


Coffee on Monday, Flowers on Friday

by Redezzy



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2020-05-20 09:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 64,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19373695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redezzy/pseuds/Redezzy
Summary: Every Monday morning Hope Mikaelson goes to the coffee shop a few blocks down from her flower shop to order her usual and see the barista.Every Friday afternoon Josie Saltzman goes to the flower shop a few blocks down from where she works to buy flowers and see the owner.





	1. Latte With Two Shots of Espresso

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Hosie fic that is a coffee shop/flower shop fusion AU.
> 
> I hope you like it, feedback is always much appreciated!

Hope Mikaelson woke up on a Monday morning excited for her day. She woke up excited every Monday morning now because of the barista at the coffee shop a few blocks down from her place.

She had never gotten the courage to actually speak to her, except to place her usual order, but the barista's aura of happiness was infectious.

Hope quickly got dressed and ready for her day and went downstairs to open up her shop. She lived in the apartment above the flower shop she owned and ran herself.

Before she flipped the closed sign to open, she slipped out the door and walked two blocks down to the coffee shop, which had become her Monday morning routine after she had been up all Sunday night a few weeks ago making bouquets for a wedding and was exhausted in the morning. She had strolled down the street in desperate need of some coffee, stopping in the first place she saw, The Mystic Mug. 

The Mystic Mug was a hipster coffee shop that felt homey. The back wall was painted with chalkboard paint and they had local artists come in every once in a while and design the wall. Right now it was a futuristic scene with lots of electric colors popping out at you. The front of the building had a lot of windows, which gave the place great natural light. The right wall had a bookshelf covering the entire wall, the bottom row holding only board games and the rest packed with books. The left wall was smaller because the counter was in the back left corner of the shop and it spanned the majority of that wall, but the rest of it was occupied with a shelf that had evenly cut squares with a different mug in each one of them. Mugs of all shapes, sizes, and designs. The shelf had a sign on the top that said, "Pick Your Own Mug!" That was how The Mystic Mug got its name, customers were allowed to pick whichever mug they wanted to. It was a perfect place to study or hang out with friends or work, and Hope could see that from the first time she set foot into it.

Hope had opened the door to see the barista facing away from her, but she immediately noticed how her wavy hair looked gorgeous. She stumbled to the counter and the barista turned to her with a smile saying, "Hi! What can I get for you?"

Hope just looked at her for a second before saying, "Latte with two shots of espresso, please," with a tired smile that was no where near as bright as the girl's. The barista turned away from her again to start making her drink, but Hope couldn't take her eyes off of her. She was mesmerizing.

The counter was L-shaped, with a register on the shorter end accompanied by coffee makers behind it. On the other side of the counter were glass display cases filled with baked goods.

When the girl turned back to her and set her drink down in front of her she said, "Have a great day, come again!"

And Hope did come again, every Monday since that day. The second week in, she wasn't tired and she didn't usually drink coffee, but it gave her an excuse to see the barista, who's nametag Hope had snuck a look at that day and learned that her name was Josie.

Josie seemed like the perfect name for the girl behind the counter, Hope thought. 

The third week, while Hope was waiting in line, she noticed that the bookshelf had sections on it that were cultivated by the different workers. There were five different sections, each with the name of the worker who had designed it above it. One section looked like it was mostly comic books and graphic novels with a sign above that said, "MG." 

The second section had, "Josie," written above it. Hope went to go look closer to see what kind of books she would have picked. It was mostly young adult and romance books, and a lot of them Hope recognized were LGBTQ+ books. She had all of Becky Albertali's books along with many that Hope didn't recognize. She also saw that the entire Harry Potter series was present. However, there was one small shelf at the bottom that was filled with books that had worn down spines that Hope noticed were all classics. _Animal Farm, And Then There Were None, To Kill A Mockingbird._ Next to the section of classics, there were a few poetry books. Somehow, Hope knew that Josie had handpicked all of these books.

A third section had, "Bee," written above it and it was sparse. There were lots of magazines, but very few books, and the few books that were there looked like they had been selected randomly. A fourth section had, "Lauren," in scrawled handwriting above it. It was filled with all kinds of different books and it looked like Lauren hadn't picked them out herself, she just threw whichever books she could find up there. The last section had, "Ais," on the chalkboard above it. It was mostly occupied by unorganized science fiction novels or mystery books. It was clear that Josie was the one who had put the most time into her bookshelf display.

After Hope had picked up her order and thanked Josie, she went back the bookshelf and ran her fingers along the spines in Josie's section. She pulled a random one out and went to sit at a table and scan through it. The book was over 300 pages long with an attractive cover design.

She checked the time and saw that she was supposed to open her shop 15 minutes ago. But she owned it and she was the only worker, so she could open whenever she wanted, and it was never that busy at 8 AM on a Monday, so she decided to flip though the book. She read the first few pages and was immediately sucked in. Unable to put down the book, she read until the very end. She turned the last page and sighed, not wanting it to be over. She finished the last sentence, slowly closed the book and set it on the table in front of her.

Josie was a few tables away, wiping them down. She turned towards her and noticed the book on the table, " _These Witches Don't Burn_. I love that book."

Hope snapped back to reality and realized that Josie was speaking to her, "Um, yeah. I got it from your section on the bookshelf. It was great."

Josie had finished wiping down the tables separating her and Hope and was now standing at Hope's chosen table. Josie looked at Hope's empty to-go cup and asked, "Can I get that for you?"

"Oh, no, thats okay. I got it." Hope grabbed the cup and book, and stood.

"Okay, cool, have a great day!" Josie's smile was blindingly bright and Hope wondered how she was always so cheery. Her grin spread to Hope, who's lips twitched upward into a smile while her eyes crinkled at the edges.

Hope would have stayed caught under Josie's gaze for as long as possible, but she needed to go open her shop. So, she said, "You too," and placed the book back on the shelf, tossed her cup in the trash and left the shop, the door jangling shut behind her.

Josie walked behind the counter and surveyed the empty coffee shop, wishing she could have talked to Hope about books for hours. They had never spoken more than a few words to each other, but Josie found herself wanting to get to know her.

The third week Hope showed up, she said good morning to Josie, but didn't read another one of Josie's books. As much as she had wanted to stay, she knew that she had to make sure she was at her shop in case anyone stopped by.

After a few weeks, it was clear that this was their new routine.

Eventually, Josie had memorized Hope's order and began to expect her, brightening with a smile when she heard the door jangle open early Monday morning.

One week, not too long ago, Josie had asked Hope what her name was. She had smiled and sputtered out, "Hope." Now, all of her drinks came with her name written on it in imbeccably perfect, curved and loopy handwriting with a smiley face drawn next to it.

Hope loved helping people find flowers and designing bouquets, but she also loved seeing Josie, even if it was for just a few minutes once a week, where all that was said was customary and rehearsed. This routine of a few stolen minutes easily became Hope's favorite part of her week.

After a few months of this, Josie Saltzman was walking home from work on a Friday afternoon and passed the flower shop she passed every day on her way home, The Enchanted Garden. It had always intrugued her, but normally she just walked past, but today she walked in.

When she opened the door there was no one inside, but she started to browse anyways. Josie didn't know what she wanted exactly, so she began to wander the aisles. The shop was small, quaint, but the way it was set up and organized made it feel spacious. There were a few rows of flowers, starting on the left wall and ending on the right. The space between the door and the counter was bigger which made it an obvious walkway for customers. The shop had large windows on the front and right side because it was on the corner of the block, perfect for a flower shop because it needed lots of sunlight. The windows were adorned with hanging baskets filled with flowers that spilled over the side.

A girl emerged from what looked like a back room and went behind the counter to face the wall and pin something up on a bulletin board.

Josie studied the girl for a second before the pieces clicked. She would recognize her anywhere. Latte with two shots of espresso, Hope. Josie had lots of regulars with names and faces and orders memorized, floating around in her head, but Hope had always caught her eye. When Monday morning rolled around, she looked forward to seeing her.

She walked up to the counter and tapped the bell lightly, "Hi."

Hope turned around at the sound of both the bell and the voice, already knowing who it was. She smiled and said, "Hi." She didn't want Josie to know that she already knew her name because she had never actually asked for it.

"Hope, hi. Latte with two shots of espresso. I'm Josie."

Josie held out her hand for Hope to shake as if they were meeting for the first time. Hope couldn't help but notice the somewhat old-fashioned gesture. It made her smile, it just seemed like something Josie would do.

When the two dropped hands, Josie asked, "I'm here for some flowers, which kind do you recommend?"

Josie wanted to buy flowers. Hope tried not to let this fact dampen her mood because she knew most people bought flowers for their significant other. Of course Josie was taken.

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

Josie tapped her fingers on the glass counter top and shrugged, "Something simple, maybe elegant. I don't know."

"Okay. Then I would recommend either lilies or orchids."

She pursed her lips and looked at the ceiling before saying, "Orchids are good. Can I buy a small bouqet? Maybe just two or three flowers?"

"Sure, I'll go get them and wrap them. Just a sec," Hope walked around the counter and brushed past Josie to go and get the flowers. She pulled three out of a mix and went into the back to wrap them in nice paper and make it look professional.

While she did this, Josie took a closer look at what Hope had behind the counter. There was a bulletin board filled with small slips of paper pinned on it, and it looked like they were all orders. Beside that, there was a calendar with dates that appeared to be deadlines marked in red pen. The Enchanted Garden seemed like the place a lot of people bought their flowers from. Josie could see why, it wasn't just the flowers, it was Hope. She was nice and kind and helpful, and, judging from her organizational skills, reliable.

Hope came out of the back room holding three expertly wrapped orchids in a simple paper. She set them down on the counter and started typing at the register.

"Okay, that will be 7.99," Hope glanced at the register and back at Josie, who was still smiling at her.

Josie pulled out her pocketbook and handed Hope a ten dollar bill. Hope took it, put it in her antique register and pulled out two ones and a penny before placing the change back into Josie's outstretched hand.

"Thank you," Josie put the change in her pocketbook and zipped it up.

"Have a great day, come again!" Hope repeated Josie's exit line and handed her the small bouquet.

Josie took it and turned, walking away from Hope. Hope watched as she left, wishing she could be the one on the recieving end of those flowers.

Hope saw Josie again on Monday at the coffee shop. But, apparently, Josie had also taken Hope's words to heart as she walked into the flower shop on Friday. And then the next Friday, too.

This became their routine. They would see each other every week on Monday and Friday without fail, Josie asking for Hope's flower recommendations and Hope ordering her usual.

Eventually, the two became friends. They would expect each other and have their orders ready, but still ask about each others day along with other small talk even though they didn't have to stand around and chat. At one point, Hope even thought that they could become more than friends, but she knew that Josie bought flowers for someone every week. She never knew for whom, but she just assumed they were for whoever she was dating. So she never pushed for anything more than a friendship.

One week, Josie broke their routine. She was walking home from work as she passed The Enchanted Garden. She walked past it everyday and went in every Friday. She ran her fingers along the tops of the flowers sitting outside and bent down to smell the flower on display. A sign next to it had, "Flower Of The Week: Allium," written in perfect cursive.

It was Wednesday, but she went in anyways. Though today she wasn't here for flowers.

Josie walked to the counter, layed her arms across it and smiled at Hope, "Do you have succulents?"

Hope smirked and responded, "You do realize this is a flower shop, right?"

"Yes, I do. But the flowers I buy on Friday aren't for me. And I want something for my apartment. Something easy to take care of, I don't exactly have a green thumb. I don't want to accidentally kill it."

Hope smiled, "I don't have any succulents. But, I could either recommend a flower that's easy to take care of, or I could special order a few succulents for you."

Josie thought about this for a second before asking, "Do you mind ordering succulents? Is that too much to ask?"

"For you? No way," Hope smirked. She took a step to the right and started typing on her keyboard. After a second, she turned the monitor so Josie could see, "Which ones do you like?"

Her eyes flicked over a few before she responded, "I like the spiral aloe, the burro's tail, and the hen and chick." She pointed to them with her finger and smiled.

Hope spun the monitor back around to face her and added one of each to her cart, "Good choices." She ordered them and checked the date they were expected to arrive, "They should be here next Thursday."

"Great! I'll drop by after work on Thursday to pick them up. How much do I owe you?"

Hope glanced at the total and took off the shipping, "17 dollars."

Josie unzipped her pocketbook, pulled out a ten, a five, and two ones, and handed the money to Hope.

Before Hope could thank her, Josie cautiously said, "Do you maybe wanna, I don't know, get a coffee or something?"

Maybe Hope was wrong about who the flowers were for, or maybe Josie was asking her out as friends. Either way, she wasn't going to say no. "I would love to."

Josie looked relieved and excited, "Great! How about tomorrow, at five at The Mystic Mug? I get off work then."

"I'll be there," Hope smiled at Josie for a moment while their eyes locked, and let herself believe for a split second that maybe, just maybe, she had a chance.


	2. Hot Chocolate With Mini Marshmallows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter!

Hope woke up on Thursday filled with jitters, nervous about her date with Josie. She still wasn't sure if it was a friend-date or a date-date, but she was nervous either way.

She usually kept her shop open until six or seven, but she was going to close early tonight.

Hope floated through her day with a certain air of serenity. She wrapped flowers and answered the phone and gave every customer an effortless smile. Something about seeing Josie later for coffee did this to her, and she didn't know why.

Throughout her day she was constantly checking the clock, counting down to when she would close and go meet Josie.

When Hope finally flipped the open sign to closed on her door, she took a deep breath and raced upstairs to get ready.

She wouldn't admit it but she spent more time than usual assembling her outfit, as well as making sure her hair was perfect.

She came back downstairs, turned off the light and started to leave. Hope was halfway out the door before she backtracked and grabbed a flower out of the pot closest to the door. Maybe it was cliche or cheesy, but she was going to do it anyways.

Hope strolled down the sidewalk and attempted to calm her nerves. She found that when thought about it, she really wasn't that nervous. It was easy with Josie, and there was no need to be nervous. So, she wasn't.

She stepped under the awning of The Mystic Mug and opened the door. The bell above it jingled to signal her arrival and Hope noticed how that was one of the only sounds in the coffee shop.

She stepped inside and looked around. It was basically vacant, save for one guy with a laptop in the corner and another girl on the other side of the room with a book and a crossaint.

Josie rushed out from behind the counter and walked up to Hope with that same smile pasted across her face, "Hey."

"Hey," Hope couldn't stop the grin that worked it's way onto her features.

"How was your day?"

"My day was good, how was yours?"

"It was good."

Remembering what was in her hand, Hope held out the flower, "This is for you," she said with a sheepish smile, almost as if she was regretting it.

But when Josie's face lit up, all traces of regret were gone as she said, "Oh, thank you!" Josie took the flower from Hope's outstretched hand and spun in around between her fingertips, entranced.

The two stood there in the small vicinity of each other for a second more before Josie said, "So, do you want to sit?"

"Yeah, we probably should." Okay, so maybe she was a little nervous.

The girls made their way to a table next to a window and sat down. A barista walked up to them after they had been seated and said, "What can I get for you guys?"

Hope squinted and read his nametag. MG. She remembered his bookshelf display, comic books and graphic novels, and tied it to the Green Lantern pin on his apron. She glanced in Josie's direction before saying, "What do you want?"

"I'll have a hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, please."

"Same for me, thanks."

MG looked at Josie and then flicked his eyes to Hope, and then back to Josie, "Sure, coming right up," before turning and walking behind the counter.

Hope watched him walk away before turning to Josie and asking, "What was that about?"

"That's just MG. He's my best friend, and he gets kind of protective when it comes to me. Don't mind him though, he's harmless."

Hope laughed and Josie relished the sounded of it, it was magical. Hope smiled at Josie and said, "Why would he be protecting you from me?"

Josie just looked at her for a second while she let her connect the dots.

When Hope did, she finally got an answer to the question she had been asking herself all day. This was a date-date. "Oh."

Josie laughed and the sweet sound of it filled the space between them, "Yeah. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah, yes. I am okay with that," Hope stuttered while fiddling with the cuff of her leather jacket.

"Good."

Before Hope could say anything else, MG reappeared next to them holding two mugs of hot chocolate. He set a mug with a sketch of a stack of books in front of Josie, and a mug with a flower on it in front of Hope.

Josie cupped the mug with her palms and said, "Thanks, MG."

MG bounded away, stepped behind the counter again and began wiping it down along with the coffee machines. Hope noticed that he would look up at the pair every few seconds as if to check on Josie and make sure everything was okay.

Hope blocked out MG and focused only on Josie. She heard the bell jingle behind her but she didn't turn to look at who came in. "Tell me something about yourself."

Josie furrowed her brow and looked at Hope before saying with a light chuckle, "I work in a coffee shop, but I don't drink coffee."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I only drink tea or hot chocolate here."

"Interesting, I don't really drink coffee either."

"But, you order a latte with two shots of espresso every Monday morning," Josie laughed and repeated Hope's order verbatim.

"Well, yeah, but I don't really come for the coffee." Hope raised her eyebrows slightly and waited for Josie to connect the dots like Josie had let her do earlier.

It was obvious when she did, a dark blush covered her cheeks and she reacted the same way Hope had, "Oh."

Hope smirked at her and laughed when Josie wouldn't meet her eyes.

Josie cleared her throat and tried to work through the heat in her cheeks, "So, neither of us drinks coffee, but do you want to hear a fun fact about coffee?"

"Yes, please," Hope leaned back in her chair and waited for Josie to speak again.

"Tree climbing goats discovered coffee."

"Really? Wow."

"Yeah, I know, a girl named Bailey told me that on my first day. She used to work here, she was the one that trained me."

"Cool," Hope followed up with, "What are you reading right now?"

Josie's eyes glimered and a grin broke out, " _The Gallery Of Unfinished Girls_. It's about this girl who's an artist who gets invited to this place for people to just be able to do art. But, the place is magical. When you're there, you do your best work. But, you can't show anyone. The book has a slow start, yet it's strangely poetic."

"It sounds good, I'll have to check it out. You have a really good taste in books."

"Thank you, I love to read."

"I've noticed," Hope laughed and her eyes flitted towards the bookshelf.

Josie saw this and said, "Yeah, it was really fun to make it. The owner wanted every barista to have their own section, so every type of book is on there. That way, its inclusive to all tastes and there's something for everyone. There's even magazines."

"Yeah, I think it shows a little bit of their personalities."

"Definitely. But, sometimes it's not that accurate. I mean, MG is totally a comic book nerd and he is constantly using references that no one else gets, but Bee actually likes to read. She just didn't care about her display."

It was clear that Josie liked talking about this, work gossip was easy ground, "Is that the same for Lauren? It looked like her section was just random."

"No, thats accurate. She didn't read any of those books." Josie chuckled.

Hope nodded slightly in recognition before saying, "So, how long have you known MG?"

"Not long, but it feels like we've been friends forever. We met here, at The Mystic Mug. It was his first day, but I had been working here for a while. He was new, but there was no one to train him because the person who usually did it was out sick, so he had no idea what he was doing." Josie looked in MG's direction to see if he was looking. When he wasn't, she finished the story, "A man ordered an iced coffee. And, MG is a really smart guy, but he did not know how to make it. I'm not entirely sure how he got there, but I found him ten minutes later, standing in a pool of melted ice cubes."

Hope imagined the scenario in her head, and it made her laugh. She looked at MG, who was expertly making a mocha while simultaneously watching them, and saw that he was only a good friend trying his best.

When Josie finished giggling, she added, "I helped him make it, and we've been best friends ever since."

"He seems like a good guy," Hope noted.

"He is."

When Josie didn't say anything more, Hope changed the subject, "So, tell me about your family."

"Uh, theres not much to tell. It's just me, my dad, and my twin sister Lizzie," but before Hope could ask the question everyone asked, she added, "We're fraternal, though."

"What's it like having a twin sister?" Hope had always thought the idea of having a sibling was desirable.

"It's a lot of things," Josie laughed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "I guess it's like any other sibling bond, but a little closer because we're stuck with each other forever. Well, I guess not now," she trailed off and Hope noticed that there was a lot to unpack here.

"Did something happen between you two?"

"Uh, I guess you could say that. I mean, it's complicated. My father, sister, and I aren't that close anymore. But, it's no big deal," Josie swallowed hard and stared at the table for a second before reciprocating, "Anyways, tell me about your family."

Hope could see that Josie wanted to change the subject, so she let her. She wanted to answer Josie's question honestly, but she didn't want to shove it in Josie's face, "Well, I have a big family, but we're all really close." She cleared her throat and dropped her eyes, "We have family dinners once a week. It's me, and my mom and my dad, and all of my dad's siblings."

"That's nice," Josie said genuinely, "I've always wanted a big family. I have a lot of relatives on my mom's side, but my mom never got along with them so I've never actually met any of them."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, its okay," Josie replied before she saw Hope's face and added, "Really, it's okay. Just because I don't have a big family doesn't mean you shouldn't talk about yours. So, tell me more."

Hope laughed and rolled her eyes at her extensive family history, "Well, uh, my mom and my dad aren't actually married. I am the product of a one night stand, but my mom is still a part of the family because she and my uncle Elijah fell in love and got married. It's all really complicated, but we're happy."

"Yeah, it does sound complicated," Josie laughed breathily before saying, "I'd love to hear more sometime, if you want to tell me about them."

"That'd be great."

The two girls locked eyes and fell into a comfortable silence, the buzz of the coffee shop fading out around them.

Hope was the first to break the silence when she realized the reality of their situation and decided to comment on it, "Whoever the flowers are for must be pretty lucky."

Hope knew that this was a date-date, but she still didn't know who the weekly flowers were for. Maybe Hope was just a rebound, maybe the flowers were for an ex in an effort to win them back. Maybe this date was her way of moving on and getting over them.

"Hmm, I'm not even sure she knows she's getting them." Josie's eyes became trained on a single spot on the floor, lost in thought.

Hope tried not to let herself get caught on the word _she_ , "What do you mean?"

Josie didn't respond for a second, and Hope thought that she had crossed a line. But before she could apologize, Josie took a deep breath and said, "They're for my mom. I visit her grave every week."

Oh. Hope's mouth dropped open slightly as she realized what she had just done. She had forced Josie to think about it. She was probably always thinking about it, and Hope had just pushed it right back into her face. 

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked," she tried to backtrack and apologize.

"Don't be, its okay," Josie lifted her eyes from the ground and focused them on Hope's while adding a small smile to show her that she was okay. But, as much as Josie tried, Hope could still see the sadness in her eyes.

Hope didn't know how to handle this situation. Her parents were alive and well, and she loved them more than she could say. She couldn't imagine what she would do if one of them were to die.

She knew that people didn't like it when you said that you were sorry for their loss, it never made them feel any better, so she didn't know what to say. As much as she wanted to comfort Josie, she didn't know what to do or say to make the pain go away. She knew there was nothing that she could do or say to make the pain go away.

So she just stayed silent. A beat passed before Josie started to explain, "It was a year ago. She-"

Before she could go on, Hope interrupted, "We don't have to talk about it."

"No, it's okay. I need to be able to talk about it." She took a deep breath and started again, "It was a year ago. We weren't on good terms, but we had just started to reconnect. I thought everything was great, but then, she uh- she committed suicide." 

Her eyes filled with unshed tears but she blinked them away. Hope wanted to hold her and let her cry on her shoulder. She also wanted to stop her, to tell her that she didn't have to talk about it again. But she didn't do either of these things.

Josie cleared her throat while Hope was quiet and continued, "I didn't understand. I was so confused and hurt, but I was angry too. I kept asking myself how she could do this. Was it something I did? Was it because of me? Is it all my fault? I've always wondered. She died a year ago, but I could never bring myself to go to her grave after the funeral. But, a few weeks ago, I couldn't stop thinking about her. So, when I was walking home from work and passed your shop, I stopped and bought some flowers and I went. It was weird at first, but it got easier the more time I spent there. And I did it the next week too, because it felt good. I go every week now. Sometimes I tell her about my week or my day or my life, but sometimes I'm just there. Either way, it helps."

Hope stared into her nearly empty cup of hot chocolate as she digested this information. She watched a mini marshmallow swirl around in the middle while steam rose from the top. When her mind had sorted through it all, she responded, "It's not your fault, you need to know that. I don't know what happened, but I know that you couldn't drive anyone to suicide. If anything, you draw them back away from it."

The tears Josie had blinked away earlier returned, and she let one of them escape down her cheek before saying, "Thank you."

Hope only smiled in response before letting silence fill the air.

"I mean, who knows," suddenly Josie's voice was very small, "maybe it's pointless." Her eyes were trained on the floor, unmoving as she scuffed her shoe back and forth along a tile.

"It's not pointless if it makes you feel better," Hope ensured. "You said that you two were just starting to reconnect before it happened, this is a way for you to get closure. Don't discredit that."

Josie nodded slightly and wiped a tear away before sniffling, chuckling lightly and saying, "Great first date talk." Another tear fell and she wiped it away too, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Seriously, it's okay," Hope forced Josie to look into her eyes, "I'm having a wonderful time on this first date."

"Really?"

"Really."

Josie took a deep breath and said, "Me too. I have no idea why I told you any of that. You're easy to talk you, and I like talking to you."

"I like talking to you too."

Their eyes connected and for a second the world around them fell away. It was like they were the only beings there, pure and full of light. It wasn't until someone opened the door that the bell unfortunately jolted them back to reality.

They didn't break eye contact though. The coffee shop buzzed around them, filled with the late afternoon slow rush, the noises steadily growing. 

When it slowed down, MG reappeared next to them and said, "How are things going? Are you done with your drinks?"

A smile turned her lips upward and a twinkle was visible in Josie's eyes as she said, "Things are going great." It was only then that Josie shifted her gaze to MG to be polite and respond, "Yeah, I think we're done with our drinks."

And with the drinks went the date. It had been a lovely hour or two, Hope wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, she wasn't sure how long she had stared into Josie's eyes. It was easy to get lost in the caring softness of them.

MG collected the two mugs and looked between the two once again. But this time it wasn't the same as before, it wasn't guarded or protective. He had been watching them throughout the whole date, and he had seen that Hope wouldn't hurt Josie. He looked between the two with hope and happiness. He wanted this to work out because he could see it in the two girls' eyes how much they wanted it to work out. He was rooting for them.

He silently turned and walked away, returning to his post behind the counter as another customer arrived to place an order.

Hope sighed happily, "Can I walk you home?"

"My place is past yours, why don't I walk you home?"

Hope laughed at the sheer chivalry display, "Come on, I want to."

"Well, since you insisted," Josie said with a little shrug, "I guess that would be okay."

"Cool, lets go." And with that Hope stood and straightened out her jacket. Josie followed suit and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair, which she threw over her arm, along with her purse.

Josie walked beside Hope to the door, calling out, "Bye, MG," before they left.

The two walked side by side down the sidewalk seven blocks to Josie's apartment, their hands brushing against each other every so often.

Sometime between the beginning of their date and now, the sun had dipped below the trees and a peaceful hush fell upon the streets.

Hope and Josie savored the serenity and kept the silence. They passed under a streetlamp and their features were illuminated for the world to see. But right now the world was silent, almost as if it knew that something big was happening between them and wanted to let them have a fitting end to their evening.

If you were on the outside looking in, you wouldn't have been able to see the way their lives changed. Maybe it was obvious for those who looked close enough. But for the lucky few on the inside, it was a series of invisible and visible little things that all added up to something astronomical.

The two strolled beside each other for the seven blocks to Josie's apartment.

When they arrived outside the door to Josie's building, it was clear that their time was coming to a close. Josie stopped before opening the door and turned to face Hope, "I had an amazing time, thank you."

"I did too. Can we do this again?"

"I would love to." The four little words hung between them for a second before Josie added, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Hope didn't dare tempt fate and lean in for a kiss. Their date had been perfect, and she didn't want to ruin it. With the way things were going, there would be plenty of time. Their relationship was only going to get better from here, she could feel it.

Josie's eyes trailed from Hope's eyes down to her lips and back to her eyes. She bit her upper lip slightly and tucked it into a smile, "Goodnight, Hope."

She turned away from Hope and pulled open the door. 

She took one step into the building before Hope reciprocated, "Goodnight, Josie."

Josie turned her head back to Hope to give her one more small smile before fully walking into the building.

Hope looked in the direction of where Josie went and sighed. She let her eyes zone out for another moment before turning and walking back to her place.

She opened her door to hear it jingle and it reminded her of the evening she had. She didn't bother to flick on the light downstairs before she went upstairs to fall into a dreamy sleep, filled with the pure images that had been floating around her mind all day, products of the unadulterated happiness she felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments and kudos, they are very much appreciated!


	3. Azaleas With Royal Elegance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

It was the day after their date, but Hope was still euphoric. Maybe it was the aftershocks of the date, maybe it was the fact that it was Friday, which meant Hope would see Josie that afternoon around five thirty. Not that she was checking the clock incessantly or anything.

She couldn't wait to do it again. She wanted to spend all of her free time with Josie. She wanted to spend all of her time with Josie, obligations or not.

Hope shook her head as she tied a ribbon on a bouquet of flowers, halfway through an order. She never thought she could fall this hard this fast. But, somehow, she didn't mind.

She pulled another sheet of tissue paper off of the stack and set it in the middle of her workspace in the back room. She placed a few flowers in it and rolled it up, finishing it off with another ribbon.

The calm, autonomous work occupied her hands and gave her mind plenty of time to wander, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. It wasn't a bad thing, it just made her realize how many of her thoughts were Josie centric.

She pulled yet another sheet of tissue paper onto the table before she heard the door jingle open and set the flower she had in her hand down to go and tend to the customer.

Hope put an easy smile on her face and walked out, ready to help. She took a step out the back room only to be greeted with another smiling face.

Josie. She had been working on a flower order and lost track of time. She glanced at the clock only to read, "5:31." Punctual as always.

"Hey." Josie was standing by the counter with her ankles crossed, putting all of her weight on one foot.

"Hey." Hope took her place behind the counter and started to look around the shop for a flower for Josie.

"So, which flower will it be today?" Josie asked Hope. Instead of just ordering orchids every week, Hope had started to pick other flowers for her. Last week was Ranaculas.

"How about Calendulas?" Hope looked quizzically at Josie and pondered this flower choice.

"Sounds great," Josie said, having no idea what kind of flower that was. She was always pleasantly surprised with Hope's flower choices, Josie wouldn't have had any idea where to begin.

Hope nodded and tapped the counter before going to the selection of them and pulling out the best three she could find.

She disappeared into the back to wrap them and reappeared a few moments later, holding the bouquet. It was a very predictable routine but Josie never tired of it.

Hope rattled off the price she said every week and Josie pulled out and unzipped her pocketbook. She handed Hope the money and took the change she handed her.

Before Hope could hand her the bouquet, Josie asked, "Hey, so, um, I'll be done in about an hour. I was wondering if you would want to go to The Mystic Mug after and play some board games? I can pick you up on my way if you want."

Hope grinned in spite of herself at the way Josie was fidgeting with the zipper on her pocketbook, obviously nervous. Oh, if only she knew that Hope had been dying to ask her out.

"That sounds lovely. Take your time, I'll be here when you come back." She handed Josie the bundle of flowers.

Josie took the flowers and clasped them between her hands, the tissue paper crinkling as she did so. "Great! Okay, I'll see you then!"

Josie turned and walked quickly away, almost as if she didn't trust herself to say anymore. When she opened the door she turned around and waved at Hope with a smile as a form of goodbye.

Hope waved back and sighed when the door shut behind her. She put her elbows on the counter and clasped her hands together, leaning down and resting her chin on top of her hands.

She stayed like this for a minute more, gazing at the door, before forcing herself to go back to work making the bouquets for the order she had been working on before Josie had walked in.

But, before she did this, she set an alarm for fourty minutes so she would know when to stop working and start getting ready.

The next fourty minutes went by in a haze. She finished the order and started on another in the allotted time. 

When the alarm finally rang, she immediately put down the bundle she was working on and went upstairs.

Hope studied herself in the mirror, reviewing her outfit and deeming it acceptable. She worked her way down her checklist, making sure she didn't forget anything. 

She tilted her head to the side, lost in thought. Hope wanted to do something special for Josie. Josie had asked her on two dates, but Hope hadn't asked her on one yet. Given, Josie beat her to it the second time, but still.

She ran her hand through her hair and thought about where she could take her. She didn't know.

Hope hadn't been a part of the dating scene in a very long time. Not since she had gotten her heart broken the last time. She didn't mind, she was happy being single. But because of the fact that she was a little rusty, she couldn't think of any new date ideas.

She exhaled and looked at the clock. 6:27. Josie would be here any minute.

She decided to table this brain storming session and go downstairs to wait for Josie. She ran her hand through her hair one more time and ruffled it slightly. Satisfied, she padded down the stairs just as Josie walked back in.

"Hi, are you ready?" Josie asked.

"Yep, I'm ready," Hope walked to stand beside Josie before asking, "Are you?"

"Yeah, let's go," Josie said through a smile. But before they could leave, a flower pot by the door caught her eye, "This is the flower you brought me yesterday, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is."

"What kind is it?" Josie wanted to try to take care of the flower. She had tried to look up what kind it was, but she didn't find anything.

"Azalea."

"I like them, tell me about them," Josie prodded.

"They are often referred to as the royalty of the garden due to their elegance and vibrant colors. They don't require much maintence to grow, just sunlight and regular watering. But, since these have already been picked, they just to be put into a vase of water and placed somewhere where they can get sun," Hope recited from memory.

Josie ran Hope's words through her head a few times so she would remember her instructions. "Okay, cool. Thank you again for my flower," Josie tried to sound casual, "Let's go."

Hope nodded. She walked to the door and held it open for Josie, flipping the sign to closed and the light switch off on their way out.

They walked beside each other to The Mystic Mug, talking about their days as they went.

"I spent most of my day working on a rush order of thirty bouquets. I finished them all and started on another order," Hope told Josie, who had asked. 

"Wow, good job. It was a typical day for me, except a customer yelled at me when he had to wait in line for so long. That part wasn't great, but I've gotten used to it by now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"

"Well, it was the midday rush, and there was a long line. One person had never been before and they asked me what I recommended. I helped them choose and then made it for them, which took longer than a usual order. So, when that guy got up to the register to order, he didn't hesitate to tell me about the inconvenience I caused him."

Hope could see that this had hurt her, even if it wasn't personal. Somewhere deep inside her she felt the need to protect Josie.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." She didn't know what more to say.

"It's okay," Josie flashed a smile as they reached the front of The Mystic Mug, "It happens."

Josie pulled open the door and held it for Hope, who thanked her for it. Josie waved at MG as they walked inside.

They picked a table and put their stuff down. MG bounded over and said, "Hey guys, what can I get for you?"

"Hey, MG. I'm Hope." Hope smiled at the boy in front of her.

MG thoughtlessly responded, "I know," as he fiddled with his order pad, before realizing what he had said and backtracked, floundering, "I mean, uh- I-"

Josie silented him with a single glance and said, "I think we're good, but we'll get back to you if we change our minds," to get him to leave.

He gladly took this chance to escape and quickly left.

A blush covered Josie's cheeks but she tried to hide it as she let her hair fall into her face. After a moment, she pushed her hair back behind her ear and said, "Do you want to look at the games?"

"Yeah, sure," Hope let Josie lead the way.

The two stood in front of the games and surveyed their options. Hope scanned the selection.

Connect Four. Chess. Cards Against Humanities. (Of course, any respectable hipster coffee shop would have that game available for play). Uno. Checkers.

Hope's eyes landed on one she wasn't familiar with, "Party Jenga? What's Party Jenga?"

"Its regular Jenga but every tile has a question on it. It's kind if like a getting to know you ice breaker. We see a lot of young awkward couples in here, and this usually eases the tension."

An idea struck Hope. Maybe this game could give her some ideas for a date. "Want to?" She stuck her hand in front of the box and looked at Josie.

"Sure," Josie responded. She was up for pretty much anything.

Hope grabbed the box and they walked back to the table and set it up.

Hope leaned back and said, "You can go first."

Josie slowly pulled out a tile and read what it said outloud and answered the question, "'What shouldn't you do while driving?' Text." The rules of the game were simple.

"I agree. Okay, my turn." Hope sat up and tapped a few tiles before pulling one from the middle, "'What do you wish you had been taught in high school?' How to handle a budget, how to write checks, how to do taxes. The list goes on and on," Hope laughed and set the tile aside.

Josie nodded her head and looked at the stack. She opted for a piece near the top and cautiously pulled it out, "'What's something that's on your bucket list?' Travel. I've always wanted to see the world. My mom used to say that I have a restless spirit," she got a far away look in her eyes before shaking her head, "Anyways, your turn."

Hope wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. So she just took her turn. "'What's one thing you wish you could make a living out of?' Art. I love to paint, and I would love to make that my job, but it would never work. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love flowers and my shop, and I'm completely happy doing what I do now, but painting has always been my passion."

Josie nodded slowly with deep eyes and said, "Can I see your work sometime?"

Hope smiled a small smile, "Yeah, anytime you want to."

Josie grinned and looked at Hope for a moment more before pulling out a tile near the bottom, "'If you could be any supernatural or mythical creature, which one would you be?' I would be a unicorn."

Hope tilted her head to the side, "Yeah, you would be." She tapped a few pieces before finding a loose one, "'What are kids better at than adults?' Having fun, adults are way too serious. Okay, your go," Hope set back in her chair and waited.

Josie pulled out a middle tile, "What shouldn't you put off until tomorrow? Anything. If you can do it today, you should. We all procrastinate, but we shouldn't." She set the piece in the pile they had created.

Hope thought about this for a moment. _If you can do it today, you should._ There was so many things she wanted to do today, wanted to say today. But this was a little different.

She shook her head and took a breath before lightly feeling one on the bottom. When the stack moved a little she pulled back and looked for a different one. She finally found one and read it outloud, "'Name something you want to experience before you die.' One truly epic love." She elaborated, "My mom told me that once, and I haven't forgotten it. Even if it ended in a disaster, I would still have had everything that came before that."

Josie hadn't realized how deep this game was. She had just thought that it was little questions like 'what's your favorite show' or 'what's something you would take to a desert island.' But she wasn't upset that it wasn't what she had expected. She was actually glad.

She silently pulled out a tile from the edge, "'If you could see the future, what would you want to know?' Nothing, I hate spoilers. When it comes to books or tv shows, I want to find things out for myself. And the same applies to life, I want to be surprised."

Hope hummed and said, "I don't like spoilers either. But I think I would want to know if I was doing the right thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if what I was doing now would last. If I would be happy. If everything I'm trying to do now pays off," she didn't say the words outloud, but she was referring to this relationship. She wanted it to last, but if it wasn't going to then she wanted to get out before she got heartbroken. Maybe it was going against what her mom had said, but Hope didn't want to feel the pain of heartbreak again.

"I see." 

Hope let the words hang in the air for a second before beginning to touch the tiles, trying to find one that wouldn't make it all fall. She finally found one near the bottom, "'What do people do when no one is looking?' Be themselves. People always wear different personalities when they're around other people. But, when no one's looking, they are completely themselves."

Josie mulled that over. It was true, and she had evidence to back it up. She worked at a coffee shop, and she loved to people watch. So, when people sat down with their drinks, sometimes she would observe them. They were rarely the same person she had met at the register.

She tapped a few tiles and found that they were all sturdy. She attempted to pull one out but it almost caused the fragile structure to collapse. Josie pulled her hand back and tried to go at it from a different angle. She found a somewhat loose one and quickly pulled it out, hoping not to hear it all come crashing down. When it didn't, she read the tile off, "'What is your ideal gift to receive?' Anything heartfelt. It's the thought that counts, and I love it when people care enough to put thought and effort into a gift they give me."

Hope made a mental note of that before wearily looking at the unstable structure in the middle of the table. She grimaced and knew that it wouldn't be long. She took a deep breath and tried to pull out one she thought looked loose.

It was only when she heard the remaining tiles hitting the table that she knew that it wasn't as loose as she had thought.

Josie laughed at Hope's face and Hope joined in. 

Hope put the tile she was holding down, "Well, it looks like you won."

"Which is weird, because I'm generally a clumsy person."

Hope chuckled, "This was fun, do you want to play another game?" Hope started grabbing the fallen tiles and putting them back in the box.

"Sure, I'll go put this one away and choose a new one." Josie slid the remaining fallout into the box and closed it up. She pushed her chair back and went to the bookshelf.

Hope watched her as she went. She thought about what she had learned from the game. Honestly, it wasn't really anything she could use to plan a date. It was fun, and she had learned a lot of new things about Josie, but none of them had given her date ideas.

The only thing that has stuck with her was the part about heartfelt gifts. _It's the thought that counts._ She wondered if she felt the same way about dates.

Josie seemed like the type of person who loved simplicity, who found the most joy in the little things. The stolen moments. Hope decided to let herself live in the moment she had right now with Josie. She wanted to do something spur of the moment with her, for her.

As Hope was lost in thought, Josie picked a new game and brought it back to the table.

Hope didn't register Josie's return until she scraped her chair back in as she set down, "So, I picked checkers."

This seemed like a game Josie would love. The simplicity. "Good choice."

They pulled open the box and set it up, Josie picking red and Hope picking black. It was a close game, but Josie set Hope up and took the last of her pieces with a triple jump.

Josie's eyes were ablaze with victory, "Again?"

"Sure," Hope laughed and obliged.

They reset and played again, Hope winning by a single checker.

They couldn't just leave it there, so they reset for one final tiebreaking game.

It was Hope's turn, and Josie had made a mistake on her previous one. They leveled their gazes and Hope raised an eyebrow.

She made her move and Josie broke out into a smirk. Judging from that, Hope knew she was toast.

Through a double jump, Josie took out Hope's two remaining pieces with a devious smile pasted across her face.

Hope set back in defeat and watched Josie curiously. She laughed as Josie slammed her piece back down in the board as she won the game. She hadn't pegged Josie for competitive.

Hope shrugged and said, "Good game."

Josie nodded and said, "Likewise." She started putting up the game while Hope folded the board back up.

Josie set the game aside before checking the time. "9:30," she read, "Do you want to play another game?"

"Sure, I'll go grab one." Hope returned the box to the shelf and scanned her options. She settled on Connect Four, smiling at the memories it brought back and the thought of how she used to love that game.

She took it back to the table and said, "Connect Four. I used to love this game."

"Cool, okay, lets play." Josie pulled off the lid of the box and slid the legs onto the game board. She seperated the playing pieces by color and let Hope choose which ones she wanted. She chose yellow, and Josie took red.

Hope got to go first and she put her circle in the middle slot. Josie put hers on top of Hope's.

Hope put her second piece right next to her first one, knowing a secret strategy. Josie once again put hers on top of the yellow one, and Hope broke out in a grin.

She placed her third and final piece in the in the left slot of her first one. It was only three in a row, but there were two open slots on both sides, meaning she was going to win either way.

Josie saw what she saw, "Congratulations. You're good at this game."

"Like I said, I used to love this game. My dad taught me that move."

Josie hummed, "That was a quick game, want to choose another?"

"Sure," she stood before asking, "Do you know how to play chess?"

"Kind of, I learned it a long time ago but I never had anyone to play with, so I forgot some of the rules."

"Thats okay, I'll reteach you." Hope took Connect Four back and grabbed chess in its place.

She took it back to the table and showed Josie how to set it up, starting with how each side mirrored each other.

Hope showed Josie where to put each piece while Josie cautiously followed her example.

She started out the lesson with telling her how each piece moved, and apologized for the large influx of information, "I know, it's a lot to learn. But once we start playing it will make more sense."

Hope had chosen white because white always went first, and that way she could give Josie an example of her first move.

They slowly played through one game, Hope taking her time to think through each move and trying to help Josie think through all of her's.

By halfway, Josie had started to remember the little details of the game and it went by faster.

In the end, though, Hope cornered Josie's king in the corner with her queen and a rook, and the game was hers.

"Checkmate."

Josie laughed, "Good game. I had forgotten how much fun chess was."

"Yeah, we can play again if you want to," Hope offered.

Josie checked the time, "I would love to, but it's almost 10:30. The Mystic Mug closes then."

"Okay, can I walk you home in that case?" Hope didn't want the night to end just yet.

Josie turned her head to look at MG before saying, "I wish I could say yes, but I need to stay and help MG close up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Josie, I understand." Hope sighed, it seemed as though their evening together was coming to a close.

Hope gathered her things and took the game back to the bookshelf.

She walked up to the counter, where Josie was starting to wipe down the machines while MG closed the ingredients. "Goodnight, Josie. Have a good weekend, I'll see you on Monday."

Josie smiled at her, "Goodnight, Hope."

And with that Hope left the coffee shop, noticing how she was the last person there. She walked down the sidewalk wishing that Josie was by her side.

She reached her store and unlocked the door, flicking the light on as she stepped inside only to scan the room once and turn it right back off again.

Hope trudged up the stairs while her mind was occupied by runaway trains of thought.

She tried to turn her brain off but she knew it was a fruitless attempt. Her brain was tirelessly chugging through different date ideas.

Suddenly, an idea struck her. She broke out into a grin and decided that it was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, they are much appreciated!


	4. Dandelions With White Fluffies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

On Monday, Hope had went to the coffee shop in the morning like she always did. She had opened the door to hear it jingle like any other morning. Josie's smile had greeted her after a long weekend of not seeing it like a wave of peacefulness. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it.

This morning was a little different, though. After their date on Thursday, Josie knew Hope didn't drink coffee, so she was no longer latte with two shots of espresso. Josie had expected this, fashioning a new drink for her.

It had been sitting on the counter when she walked in, waiting for her. Josie had waited for her to take a drink to see if she had done a good job.

She wouldn't tell her what it was before she tasted it, though. Hope had tentatively taken a sip before being amazed at how good it was. She was amazed, but not surprised. Josie was good at this, and Hope expected nothing less. Hope never ceased to be amazed by Josie.

Hope had smiled and thanked her, asking what it was. But Josie had just smirked and shrugged, refusing to tell, almost as if it was her secret recipe. Maybe it was. Either way, Hope loved it.

Hope was now staring at the empty to-go cup from this morning sitting on her counter. She kept tracing the way Josie had written her name on it over and over again with her eyes. She had beautiful handwriting, down to the little smiley face she had drawn.

She smiled and let herself replay this morning in her head one more time before forcing herself to get back to work.

Before she did this, she checked the clock. 11:52.

Suddenly, an idea dawned on her. It was almost noon, meaning that Josie should get a lunch break soon, right?

Hope was willing to take that chance as she grabbed her jacket and ran a hand through her hair, already starting towards the door.

This was a spur of the moment thing, and she hoped Josie wouldn't mind. She put her jacket on as she pushed open the door and started down the sidewalk.

Two blocks later she was pushing open the door to be met with the same jingle she was all too familiar with. She walked up to the counter to see Josie looking at her quizzically.

"Hope, what are you doing here?" Josie tilted her head to the side and asked.

Hope smiled, "I hope you don't mind, but I thought you might get a lunch break soon. And I wondered if you might want to spend it with me."

Josie was caught off guard, but she recovered quickly, "I would love to, my lunch break starts in about fifteen minutes, can you wait?"

"Sure, can I buy a muffin?" After all, it was her lunch break, too.

Josie laughed, "Of course, what kind do you want?"

"Do you have chocolate chip?" Hope craned her neck as she tried to see the display case.

"Yes, we do, just a sec," Josie turned to the side and lifted up the display case, pulling out a muffin. She closed the case and set the muffin on a napkin, "Here you go."

Hope handed her what she owed and said, "Thank you," before turning and going to a table in the corner to wait.

She watched Josie make a drink and ring up another customer while tearing off pieces of her muffin and eating them.

She watched the way she smiled at them and thanked them, the way she expertly put foam into a drink.

Hope smiled at her pure beauty.

Fifteen minutes passed and Hope had finished her muffin. She brushed her hands off and stood, picking up her trash to throw away.

Josie appeared by her side after she had deposited the remnants into the trash, "Hey."

"Hey. I was thinking we could take a walk. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great, I don't have long for my break, though."

"Thats okay. I saw you this morning and wanted to see you again, even if it was just for a little while."

Josie blushed as Hope held open the door for her, mumbling a thank you on her way out.

They two fell into step as Hope led the way to the park. Josie breathed in the outside air and exhaled.

"How was your weekend?" Hope asked as they stepped in the sunny park and started walking along the path.

"My weekend was good. I covered an extra shift on Saturday, and I finished my book on Sunday. How was yours?"

"That's great, my weekend was good too. I had my family dinner on Saturday, and it was nice to see my family. We don't usually get to see each other outside of those dinners."

"Why not?"

"We all have our own lives. And, as much as we love each other, we're all really busy. It's hard to find a time when we're all free to do something during the week. Not to mention the fact that extended time together usually leads to fights between my dad and his siblings. But it's an unspoken rule to play nice at family dinners."

"I see," Josie nodded, "I'm sorry you don't get to spend as much time with your family as you would like."

"Its okay, at least I get to spend any time with them at all. There were a few years a while ago where we didn't see each other at all. My dad and his brothers were in a big fight, so it wasn't like the rest of us could act like there wasn't something going on. But eventually they made up, and we instigated the family dinners to make sure it didn't happen again."

Josie hummed and looked at the ground. She wondered if her and her family could ever get closer again. After her mom committed suicide, they had just grown apart. It was little cracks at first, passive aggressive comments thrown every once in a while, but then it turned into full blown screaming matches.

It got to the point where they couldn't even bear to be in the same room as one another. Eventually, they just stopped talking. At first, Josie had been relieved, but it didn't take long for her to miss them. She knew that they probably blamed her for their mom's death, and a little part of her blamed herself too, so she couldn't be hurt that they didn't want to be around her.

She missed them everyday, but she knew that there were reasons for why things were the way they were. As much as she wanted to reach out and reconnect, she didn't think it was the right time. But she didn't know if there ever would be a right time either.

Josie was staring at the ground until Hope pointed to something in a tree, "Look, a bird."

Josie squinted to see the bird perched on a low hanging branch, "It's pretty." It had a black head while its body was a deep blue. It stood out in the tree because the leaves were just beginning to turn, courtesy of the break of the new season.

"Yeah. Do you have any pets?"

"I have a dog, her name is Apollo, she's almost three. What about you?"

Hope smiled, "She sounds adorable. I want a pet, but I don't have one. Why did you name her Apollo?"

They were rounding the first corner of the path, making their way around the edges of the park.

Josie kicked a rock, "I love space. It's always fascinated me to think about what could be out there. Comets, galaxies, maybe even other life forms." She laughed, "It's stupid, I know."

"No, no, no, it's not stupid. I think it's cool. I've seen pictures of nebulas and constellations, they're beautiful."

"Yeah, it's just weird to think that there's so much about our universe that we don't even know yet. There's space, but there's also the ocean. Did you know that 95 percent of the ocean is unexplored? I mean, just imagine what could be down there," Josie rambled.

Hope smiled at the girl walking beside her, using hand motions as she talked about something she loved. "Wow. What do you think could be down there or out there?"

"Anything. We won't know unless we explore it."

Hope knew that Josie had thoughts on this, she was just afraid to say them, so she pushed, "But what do you want to be out there?"

Josie smiled and glanced over at Hope, "I've always loved the idea of mermaids. And I'm not opposed to aliens either."

Hope smirked, she had always thought that those beings could be possible, and she liked how cute Josie looked when she talked about the vast unknown, "I am also not opposed to aliens."

Josie grinned but didn't respond. She liked how Hope didn't make fun of her for believing in that kind of stuff, some people would. They rounded the second corner and came upon a shady spot tucked beneath a tree with dandelions surrounding the base of the trunk.

They stopped walking as Josie bent down to pluck a dandelion from the earth and spin it around between her fingers, "Do you believe that if you make a wish and then blow off all of the white fluffies of a dandelion in one breath, then your wish will come true?"

"I like to believe it, yeah, do you?" Hope watched Josie twirl it between her thumb and index finger, just as she had done with the flower she had brought her on their first date.

"Yeah, I do." Josie handed Hope the dandelion, "Make a wish."

Hope thought about it for a second before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, attempting to blow off all of the white fluffies, as Josie called them.

She opened her eyes to see a bare stem, and hoped that her wish would come true. 

Josie beamed at her, "What did you wish for?"

Hope smirked and threw the stem back on the ground where Josie had picked it up from, "If I tell you that then it won't come true."

Josie playfully frowned, "You're right. I guess I'll never know."

Hope grinned back at her. Little did she know, the wish involved her.

Hope stared at the shady area in front of her, "You know, this would be a great spot for a picnic."

Josie smiled and agreed, "Yes, yes it would be."

This was Hope's chance to ask Josie out, so she went for it. She stuttered slightly but forged onwards, "Do you want to have a picnic here with me tomorrow?"

"I would love to."

"Great! Um, how about six?" 

"Six is good," Josie nodded nonchalantly, acting as if she wasn't already looking forward to it.

"Cool," Hope didn't know what else to say, she was ecstatic that Josie had said yes, though. She started walking down the trail again and Josie fell in step with her.

They walked in silence for a few steps before Josie asked, "What's your favorite flower?"

"Gerbera Daisies." Hope stated plainly before adding, "I love all flowers, and it's really hard to pick a favorite because they're all beautiful, but Gerbera Daisies have sentimental value."

"What is it?" Josie questioned.

As they rounded the third and final corner of the park and they began their way back to where they entered, Hope elaborated, "I remember my dad taking me to this little area under a tree that was covered in orange flowers. He told me about how they made the most vibrant paint colors. I was about seven, I think. But, anyways, after we picked some, he took me back to the house and taught me how to make paint from flowers."

"That's nice. I didn't know you could make paint from flowers."

"Yeah, it's really cool. I still do it sometimes. That's one upside of owning a flower shop, I always have the resources to do so."

Josie laughed, "Yeah, I can see that."

The park was a rectangle-esque shape, so they didn't have much left to walk. And as much as Hope had enjoyed their time together, she didn't want their date to end.

"You know what another upside is?" Hope decided to add in something else. Spur of the moment, of course.

Josie raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I can always bring you flowers."

Josie blushed and diverted her attention away from Hope and towards the ground.

Hope laughed at how cute Josie was when she was flustered and decided to give her a break in the form of a subject change, "Do you have a favorite?"

Forgetting the original topic, Josie was confused, "A favorite what?"

Hope clarified, "A favorite flower?"

She pondered this for a second before responding, "Not really. I don't know enough about flowers to pick a favorite."

Hope hummed and tilted her head to the side in thought, "I think I know what your favorite flower may be, you just haven't seen it yet." She was taking the information she had learned about Josie from today and making a calculated assumption.

"What is it?" Josie was intrigued.

"And what was my drink this morning?" Hope countered.

Josie admitted defeat, "That's fair." She shrugged, "Both will remain a mystery for the time being."

Hope frowned slightly, she had thought that would get her to tell her, but that hadn't been the case. Which, coincidentally, peaked her interest. She was just going to have to find another way.

She made a mental note to special order the flowers when she got back to her shop while they stopped at where they first came in.

Hope looked at the ground before focusing her attention on the brown eyes staring back at her. "Thank you for coming on a walk with me."

"Thank you for asking me, it was nice."

"Yeah, it was, do you have any extra time before you have to get back?" Hope referred to the end of her lunch break, thinking that maybe they could spend a little bit more time together.

Josie froze and whipped out her phone to check the time, "Oh no."

Hope was concerned, "Josie, what's wrong?"

Panic seized her chest, "I completely lost track of time. I was supposed to be back fifteen minutes ago."

"Wait, its okay. Just take a deep breath," Hope attempted to help Josie calm down.

Josie followed as Hope told her to do, taking a deep breath and letting logic take the place of anxiety. MG was working with her today, he would cover for her, he was just that kind of friend. She took another deep breath, "Yeah, you're right. It's okay, MG can cover for me. Thanks."

"Yeah, sure, don't worry about it. I'll walk you back." Hope smiled at her and watched her take another deep breath to ease her nerves.

"Okay, thank you." Josie took a few small steps before Hope started walking beside her.

"The other day you said you wanted to travel. Is there anywhere you want to go specifically?" Hope wanted to give Josie something else to think about besides being late. She could tell that it bothered her.

A small smile tugged the corner of Josie's lips up, "I want to travel the world. I want to backpack through Europe and road trip through the states. I want to ride a camel through the desert and go snorkeling and scuba diving somewhere tropical with crystal clear water. I want to scale a giant rock, do a cliff dive into the ocean, swim in a little pool with a waterfall tucked beneath the trees. I want to do and see it all. Or, as much as I can." She smiled fondly at the thought of experiencing all of these things and Hope noticed a certain sparkle in her eyes.

Before her mom and her grew apart, they would plan trips for fun. They would make up itineraries and talk about how they promised they would go there together one day. Lizzie never really took up their shared interest in travel, she was perfectly fine staying where she was, and she got that from their dad.

But Josie and her mom both had restless souls, or so her mom said. They both knew that the trips they planned would probably never happen, but it was fun to imagine. It gave them common ground, a place where they could bond while the rest of their differences sat outside the boundaries they created.

Josie couldn't remember the last time they planned a trip together.

She shook her hands out and banished those thoughts from her head, turning to Hope, "Is there anywhere you want to travel?"

How could Hope compare with Josie's list? Sure, she wanted to travel, but she hadn't heard the siren sound of it like Josie had. "Not specifically, but I have always wanted to go to Europe."

"Cool." Josie stared at the ground sidewalk and counted the slits in the concrete.

She counted to six before Hope broke the silence, "I'm sorry I made you late."

Josie stopped walking and forced Hope to look into her eyes, "Don't be, I really enjoyed this. It was worth being late for. You are worth being late for."

The feeling of guilt in Hope's chest dissipated and was replaced with her heart swelling at Josie's words. "Okay," she gave Josie a small smile.

The girl returned the small but genuine smile and stared into her eyes for a moment more before beginning to walk again.

Josie began to count sidewalk slits as she watched the ground beneath their feet.

It was another seven before Hope stopped in front of The Mystic Mug while Josie continued to walk, "Josie?"

Josie snapped her head up and realized that she had passed her destination, "Sorry."

Hope laughed lightly, "It's okay." She looked through the window, "Wow, it looks busy."

Josie rushed to peer into the window beside her, "The midday rush. MG's gonna kill me," she turned to Hope, "I gotta go."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Hope said she as watched Josie turn. She called after her, "Wait! Can I help?"

The girl spun around, "What?"

"Well, it's my fault you're late. I don't know how to make coffee, but I can take orders and woman the register," Hope offered.

"Uh, sure. Okay, thanks." Josie spun around and dodged another incoming customer and dashed inside.

Hope followed suit as Josie went behind the counter and apologzied to MG, and explained why Hope was now standing behind the register.

He nodded slightly and gave Hope a smile before going back to the drink he was making.

The coffee shop was a mad house, people were streaming in continuously. Just as Hope began to think that they would never stop, the steady stream turned into a occasional drip.

Eventually, as Hope handed one more remaining straggler their drink, she didn't hear the bell jingle again. The midday rush was officially over, and Hope had a new found respect for baristas.

A sudden hush fell over the shop as the door swung closed behind the last person who left. A calm silence filled the air and the three collectively took a deep breath.

The first thing Josie did in the spare moment she had was go to MG and say, "Please don't be mad me," with a look on her face that would have made Hope crumble.

MG sighed and responded, "I'm not mad. I mean, I was at first, but you had something more important to do," he glanced at Hope, "She's a good one."

Hope couldn't make out what they were saying to one another but it seemed like MG had forgiven Josie, which was a weight off of her chest too. The last thing she wanted to do was be the reason Josie was at odds with her best friend.

MG approached her, "Thanks for helping out today, we needed it."

Hope smiled, "Yeah, sure, happy to help. After all, it was my fault Josie was late."

"Don't worry about it, its all good." MG started to walk away, but took a step backwards and looked at her to say, "Just, don't hurt her, okay?"

Hope would never hurt Josie if she could prevent it, "I won't." She looked at him with enough conviction in her eyes that he was satisfied enough to walk away.

Josie was next to come up to Hope, "Hey. Thank you. For the date and the help." She gave her a small smile.

"Anytime." Hope returned the small smile but turned it into a grin, "Is there anything else I can do?"

Josie looked around and saw MG cleaning the counter, "Nope, I think we're good here."

"Cool. Okay, um, then I guess I'll go. Before I do though, can I have your number to put into my phone?"

"Oh, yeah, definetly," Josie pulled out her phone and opened up to contacts before handing it to Hope, who then entered her number and handed it back. Josie opened a new text message to Hope's number and typed something out before clicking send.

A second later Hope's phone dinged and she took it out of her pocket to save Josie's number, "Thanks."

"Yeah, sure." 

The awkward encounter lasted a second more before Hope said, "So, I'm going to go. Um, I'll pick you up tomorrow at six?"

Josie smiled and said, "Sounds great, I'll see you then."

Hope smiled back at Josie before waving at MG and letting the jingle of the door signal her depart.

She walked the two blocks back to her shop in a haze. When she got there, she opened the door and turned on the lights.

The first thing she did was go behind her computer and put in a special order for flowers, the flowers that she thought would become Josie's favorite.

She finished checking out and saw that they were expected to arrive on Saturday. Hope smirked at the fact that it was just another excuse to get to see her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos! As always, they are much appreciated!


	5. Pumpkin Spice With Cinnamon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's late, I know, but I hope you enjoy!

Around noon on Tuesday, Hope started preparing for her picnic date. She had typed out a to-do list on her phone last night and was just beginning to cross things off during her lunch break.

Hope was upstairs in her kitchen, setting out everything she would need. 

She had also texted Josie last night, asking if she had any dietary restrictions so she could bring appropriate food. She had learned that Josie was vegetarian, so she was bringing small foods that fit into that.

Hope sat a bag of grapes on her counter and turned back to her fridge.

She closed the door and looked at the clock. 12:07. She had about twenty minutes to get as much done as she could.

Hope rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands, drying them on the towel folded next to the sink.

She picked grapes off of the vine and set them in a bowl to wash. When she was satisfied with the amount of grapes she had collected, she put the bag back in her fridge and grabbed the colander hanging above the sink.

Pouring the bowl of grapes into the colander, she held the colander in the sink and ran water over the grapes to wash them.

Hope thought about where they were in their relationship. They hadn't made it official, and Hope didn't know why. She wanted to, but she didn't know if Josie wanted to be her girlfriend.

Turning off the water, Hope shook out the colander and set it off to the side, along with those thoughts. As long as she got to spend time with Josie, it didn't matter what they were. She pulled out a see through Tupperware and set it next to the drying grapes.

Hope opened her pantry and pulled out a box of crackers, getting a sheen to put in the basket. She put the box back and set the ones she had gotten out on the counter.

She turned back to her pantry and pulled out a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds and a container of chocolate covered almonds. Setting them next to the crackers, Hope checked the time again. 12:22.

She poured the grapes into the Tupperware, sealed the lid and set it in the fridge so it would stay cold.

Hope closed the fridge and moved all of the other things she was bringing to the middle of the counter before padding back downstairs to get back to work.

The rest of the day went by slowly, Hope was looking forward to her date, and it seemed to make the time crawl. 

She had taken a few phone call orders, but there was one customer that actually came into her shop.

It was a young girl, maybe late teens or early twenties. She had short, raven hair tucked underneath the hood of her jacket. The girl came up to the counter and asked for flowers. It kind of reminded Hope of the first time Josie bought flowers.

The girl didn't seem very sure of herself, like she didn't know if buying flowers was the right decision. Hope helped her pick some out and wrapped them for her.

The girl paid her, but gave her an unsteady smile. Before she handed the flowers to the girl, Hope asked if she wanted a card to put with them.

The girl's eyes had widened, like she hadn't expected that question. She sputtered out an _I guess so_. Hope asked her what she wanted written on it and she could see the girl trying to figure out what she should write.

After a few seconds the girl said, "Can you write, 'I'm sorry for how things ended, please forgive me. Maybe one day we can try again. Love, P,' for me, please?"

The note threw Hope, it wasn't odd for someone to apologize with flowers, but it seemed like there were a lot of emotions behind these words. Like the girl really regretted how things ended, like she had been debating doing this for a while.

"Um, yeah, sure." Hope pulled out a pen and a small card and scribbled the words out, down to the signature at the bottom. She stuck the card in the flowers and handed them to the girl, "Have a great day, come again!"

The girl took the flowers and forced a smile. Her face had a look on it like she would never step foot back in this place, like she was already regretting she did.

She turned and left the shop, leaving a confused Hope behind her.

Hope shook her head slightly and looked at the clock. 4:57. She walked the path the customer had taken and turned the sign on the door to closed, deciding that she should finish getting ready.

She went upstairs and opened a closet, pulling out an old fashioned basket along with a blanket.

Hope put the two items on the counter and went to change. She took off her apron and hung it on a rack near the stairs.

She changed into dark jeans and t-shirt, which she would accompany with her leather jacket. She finished doing everything to get ready and stood in front of her mirror, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath.

Hope looked in the mirror for a moment more, lost in thought, still slightly stuck on the girl from earlier.

She sighed and went back to the kitchen. She set all of the things she was taking in the basket and grabbed two waters from the fridge to put in it as well, as well as some napkins.

Hope closed the picnic basket and put the blanket on top. She grabbed her leather jacket from the coat rack and slipped it on.

She mentally ran through a checklist of what she needed to make sure she had everything. Satisfied that she did, she slipped her arm though the handles of the picnic basket, carrying it like Little Red Riding Hood.

Hope turned off the lights as she went downstairs and locked the door behind her. She turned to the left and began walking the five blocks to Josie's apartment, taking her time because she was a little bit early.

She wondered what the context behind the girl's note was. Did things end in a disaster? Was it her fault, or did she at least think it was?

These thoughts filled her head for the duration of the walk and before she knew it, Hope found herself standing in front of Josie's apartment building.

Pushing these thoughts out of her head, Hope buzzed Josie's apartment, signaling she was there.

She stepped back and leaned against the wall, waiting. A few moments later, the door opened and Josie walked out with a smile.

"Hey." Hope smiled back at her.

"Hey, how was your day?" Josie asked.

"My day was good, how was yours?"

"That's good, my day was also good." Josie stood beside Hope, "Thanks for picking me up."

"Its my pleasure. Are you ready?"

"Yep, let's go."

Josie stood on the left side of Hope and they started walking down the sidewalk to the park. As they were leaving Josie's apartment building, Hope turned her head to the right and saw the girl from earlier, holding the flowers.

Hope gave her a little wave with a smile, but the girl’s face dropped. Josie wasn't paying any attention, she was looking the other way towards the park.

The girl looked at her for a second more before scurrying away, it seemed like she saw something she didn't like and wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

This only confused Hope more, what could have made the girl's entire demeanor change?

She turned her head to Josie to tell her about it, but saw her still not looking that way. Hope decided that it wasn't really important, so she didn't bring it up.

But it didn't leave her brain entirely. There was something that just kind of felt off about the whole situation, but Hope couldn't put her finger on what it was.

She concluded that it didn't have anything to do with her, the girl probably didn't even recognize her. So she pushed those thoughts out of her head for the final time today and focused on the girl at her side, the girl who actually mattered.

The two arrived at the park and went inside, beginning their walk to the other corner of the park for their picnic spot. 

Hope watched Josie look around the park, breathing in the fall air deeply. She didn't know if she had ever enjoyed watching someone else just be as much as she did when it came to Josie..

They didn't speak as they walked to their spot, but it was a comfortable silence. Hope could hear Josie contentedly sighing as they rounded the first corner.

"What is it, Jo?" Hope questioned, interested in hearing what she was deep in thought about.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Josie came back to reality and asked.

Hope laughed, "What are you thinking about? You sighed heavily."

Josie smiled, "I don't know. I was just thinking about how this is kind of perfect, you know?"

Hope smiled back at her, "Yeah, I know." She was next to sigh in content, which caused Josie to laugh, and Hope couldn't help but smile at the sound of her laughter.

They stopped in front of the tree and Hope pulled out the blanket. Josie put her hand on it to stop her as she realized something, "Wait, what about the dandelions?"

Hope smiled at Josie's pure concern for the flowers and said, "They'll be okay. We can move a little bit closer to the tree where there aren't as many."

She looked at Josie to make sure she was okay with it, who nodded and released her hold on the blanket.

Hope stepped around the large collection of dandelions and to the base of the tree. She pulled out the blanket and opened it, setting the picnic basket down so she could spread out the blanket.

She spread the blanket out and put the picnic basket in the middle. Hope sat down and patted the area on the other side of the basket.

Josie stepped around the dandelions and settled into her spot. When she was situated, Hope opened the basket and pulled out the things inside, listing them off, "Okay, I didn't really know what to bring, but I brought grapes, crackers, chocolate covered almonds and roasted pumpkin seeds. Oh, and two waters," Hope added.

Hope set everything out and picked up the bag of roasted pumpkin seeds. She held it open towards Josie and asked, "Want one?"

"Roasted pumpkin seeds?" Josie didn't really know what to think about them.

"Yeah," Hope threw one in her mouth, "It's pumpkin season."

Josie made a face, "Oh, don't remind me. We just got our first shipment of pumpkin spice. There's so much of it. I'm dreading writing it on the chalkboard as a special. I swear, people only like pumpkin spice because you're supposed to like pumpkin spice. And don't even get me started on the amount of times I have to type 'pumpkin spice with cinnamon' into an order in one day."

Hope laughed at Josie's rant, "So, not a fan of pumpkin spice, huh? Does that mean you don't want to try a roasted pumpkin seed?" Hope tilted the bag in Josie's direction and offered.

Josie grabbed one and said, "I've never actually tried pumpkin spice." She popped the seed in her mouth.

Hope hummed, "Me neither."

"Maybe we should jump on the bandwagon together."

"If you want to, I'm there."

Josie smiled and took another roasted pumpkin seed, "So, anything interesting happen in your day?"

Hope pondered this, "Not really. It was a slow day, only three people came into the store, but there were a few more phone calls. What about you?"

"When MG was unpacking the pumpkin spice, he dropped an entire container in the corner of the stock room. It was everywhere. I helped him clean it up, but it was funny. All I heard was a loud crash and then MG calling out my name," Josie giggled.

Hope laughed along with Josie, "He seems to make a lot of messes."

"Yeah, that's MG. He's clumsy, but he tries his best." Josie suddenly realized that Hope had never talked about her friends, "What about you? Who's your MG?"

Hope blinked a few times at the question, trying to come up with an answer for her, "Um, I don't really have one."

Josie's brow furrowed, "What? Everybody needs an MG."

Hope smiled sadly, "Yeah, I know, but I don't have one. At least, not anymore." A far away look overtook her eyes as old memories resurfaced.

Josie decided to change the subject, it was clear that this made her sad. She pulled open the grapes and said, "Thank you for bringing all this," she gestured to everything, "It's nice."

"You don't have to thank me, it's my pleasure, really." Hope noticed that Josie said _thank you_ and _sorry_ a lot.

Josie smiled and leaned forward, pulling a single dandelion from the grass just outside of where the blanket stretched.

She spun in between her fingers and looked at it for a moment before taking a deep breath and blowing all of the white fluffies off the top.

Hope watched her do this, leaving her in silence for a moment before saying, "Did you know that dandelions are technically weeds? I think of them as flowers, though."

Josie's face dropped, "What? Really?" She looked at the sea of dandelions around them and said, "They are flowers to me."

Hope tilted her head to the side in wonder. Josie was a pure soul, and she was just beginning to see the full extend of it. She saw the best in everything, even a plant.

Hope was amazed by Josie. She had been through so many heartbreaking things, and yet she was still smiling. And through it all, she had been smiling. Hope wondered if she hadn't always been the kind to look on the bright side, but she thought that it was unlikely that Josie had ever been a pessimistic person.

Still, she asked, "Have you always been such an optimistic person?"

"Yeah, looking on the bright side as always been my thing. My sister was more of one to not, so me being happy all the time helped her. What about you?"

"I think I'm more somewhere in the middle. Maybe optimistic with a bit of cynicism." Josie nodded intently, and Hope asked, "Are you and your sister polar opposites on everything?"

"Mostly, yeah. We have some common ground, but for the most part, we're completely different. I think that's what makes us work, or at least what used to make us work." Josie's face dimmed slightly.

A beat of silence passed before Hope asked quietly, "Do you ever get to see them?"

"No, uh, I haven't seen them for a while. As much as I miss them, I know it's better this way."

"What do you mean?" Hope couldn't see how this was good for anyone. For her, family was one of the most important things in the world.

"I don't know. I mean, things aren't what they used to be, and there's a reason for that," she shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. Like she wasn't missing them more than she had ever missed anything before. Like she didn't care.

But Hope knew she did. She could see it written all across her face, even though she was trying to pretend she didn't. 

Hope hummed, unsure of why Josie was trying to act like things were totally fine. Maybe it wasn't Hope she was lying to, maybe it was herself.

She decided to change the subject, Josie was dealing with things the best way she could, and Hope wanted to let her have as much time as she needed. She let silence fill the space between them to give them both a moment to take in the information just given.

After a moment more, she asked, "Do you play any instruments?"

Josie brightened, "Yeah! I play the ukulele and the guitar. Do you?"

Hope smiled, "Really? That’s so cool! How long have you been playing?” She answered Josie’s question, “No, I don't. I think it would be cool to learn one, though. I would love to hear you play sometime, if you want to play for me."

A small but genuine smile came over Josie's face, "Yeah, I'd like that." Her gaze remained on Hope for a moment more before she cast it towards the water bottle she was holding, taking a sip and adding, “I’ve been playing since I was a teenager.”

“That’s interesting.”

Quiet conversation filled the space between them effortlessly as the sun began to set behind them. Hope began putting away the empty containers as the air became chilly due to the onset of fall weather.

Hope stood and closed the basket, offering Josie a hand up. Josie took it and stood as well, grabbing the blanket and folding it back up. She slipped it underneath the basket handles and Hope carried it the way she had earlier on her left arm.

Hope broke the calm silence, “Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall.” Josie took one more look at their spot in the moonlight and sighed. It really had been perfect.

Careful not to step on any dandelions, the two walked around the collection and met up a few feet away, falling in step with each other.

They began walking away from the little area tucked beneath the shade of a tree and towards Josie’s apartment.

Along the way, Hope looked over just in time to see the moon highlight Josie’s shoulders shivering in the brisk air.

She smirked and did quite possibly the most cliche thing she had done since she met the girl walking on her right beside her.

Hope shrugged out of her signature leather jacket and draped it over Josie. Josie slid her arms through the sleeves and breathed it in. It was warm and comfy, and Josie debated never taking it off again.

She muttered a _thank you_ before letting silence fall back between them.

Hope rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath. With the town around them falling into the night, she cautiously moved her hand a few millimeters to close the distance between her hand and Josie’s.

Josie felt her hand begin to brush against her own and interlaced their fingers, noticing how well their hands fit together. She sighed into the calm night and gazed at the moon, which was casting little shadows all around their walk home.

The next few blocks went by far too quickly as they occasionally swung their hands back and forth slightly. Stopping in front of Josie’s apartment building, Hope begrudgingly slid her hand out of Josie’s, immediately feeling the cold spot her hand had occupied only moments before.

“Goodnight, Hope.”

Josie began to take off her jacket to return it, but Hope stopped her, “It’s okay. You can give it back to me sometime later.” She left out the part where she thought that it looked better on her than it did on herself. 

“Oh, okay, thanks,” Josie blushed, hoping that the darkness would cover it.

Hope didn’t say anything more, wishing that their time together would last just a little bit longer. Knowing their time was coming to an unfortunate end, she said, “Goodnight, Josie.”

Josie smiled and looked at her for a second longer before turning and going inside her apartment building. She stopped at the door, however, and gave Hope a small wave before slipping inside.

Hope watched the door swing shut slowly, wishing she would come back. She sighed and turned, knowing that watching Josie walk away from her was one of the hardest things she had to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated!


	6. Raspberry Tea With Honey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

Wednesday afternoon MG caught Josie staring off into space, "Jo? Earth to Jo?"

Josie hummed and sighed, "Sorry, MG. I was just... thinking."

"About Hope?" A knowing look came across his face. These days, she was always thinking about Hope.

She blushed and smiled, "Yeah."

"You guys have been spending a lot of time together." He smiled at her, watching her eyes light up.

She grinned, "It's been great. I love spending time with her more than anyone else in the world." She quickly added, "No offense, of course."

MG grinned at the love struck girl in front of him, "None taken."

Josie looked at her hands and her eyes got a dreamy, far away expression in them, "Her smile is the best thing I've ever seen. When she smiles, her eyes kind of crinkle at the edges, and they sparkle. And her laugh, oh, when she laughs, its like time stops." She sighed before finishing, "It's so soon, but I can't stop thinking about her."

He listened to her ramble and responded, "She's been good for you. You know, after..."

"Yeah, I know." The dreamy look in her eyes vanished as it was replaced with something unreadable.

Josie's eyes lifted as the bell jingled, ready to help a customer. They fell when it was the last person she wanted to see.

Almost as if speaking about her summoned her, the girl who had haunted her day and night for months walked through the door.

Penelope Park crossed one leg over the other and cat-walked her way to the counter, a sincere smirk pasted across her face, "Hi, JoJo."

///

Hope stumbled down the stairs on Thursday morning and opened her shop. A few minutes later, a delivery man pulled up in front and stopped.

She watched him get out and walk into her store. He handed her a piece of paper to sign with a pen, pointed to a line near the bottom and said, "Sign here please."

She watched him as he turned and went to his truck, pulling out a box labeled fragile. Hope finished her signature as he put the box down on the counter.

She handed him the paper and smiled, saying, "Thank you."

He nodded his head and left without another word. Hope grabbed her box cutters and sliced open the tape.

She bent back the top flaps and stared inside, smiling down at Josie's succulents.

She couldn't believe that it had only been one week, one week of long talks and little dates. Quite possibly the best week of her life.

If it hadn't been for the box of succulents in front of her, they may never have gotten to where they were today. Josie may have never asked Hope out, and maybe she wouldn't have either.

Hope pulled out her phone and texted Josie, "Your succulents have arrived."

A few minutes later, a response caused her phone to vibrate, "Yay! I know I said I would come by after work, but I wasn't scheduled to come in today. I can pick them up tomorrow."

Hope frowned at the thought of not getting to see her today, and offered a second option, "Or I could bring them by your place later?"

Three little dots appeared for a moment before a new text took their place, "That would be great, thank you."

Hope sent a smiley face as a response and set her phone off to the side, expecting that to be the end of the conversation.

But it wasn't as Josie texted her again a minute later, "Actually, do you have any plans tonight?"

She eagerly texted back, "Nope, why?"

Those three little dots came back and Hope watched them impatiently. Josie took her time, deleting and retyping the same message reworded a few times.

Eventually, she pressed send, "When you bring the succulents by later, will you bring your favorite book?"

Hope furrowed her brow, but answered, "Sure. Why?"

Josie grinned on the other end of the phone, "You'll find out." She added an emoji wearing a sly smirk.

She raised her eyebrow but didn't question her, she just responded with an _okay_.

Her interest was peaked as she looked at the clock. 2:47. She decided she would close at six and then go over to Josie's. Only three more hours.

She sighed and tapped her fingers on the counter restlessly. Three hours seemed like a really long time.

Hope grabbed a pair of scissors and forced herself to finish at least one order. Her hands moved into the methodical ways, making bouquet after bouquet.

Three orders later, the clock struck six and Hope exhaled. She cleaned up the debris and set aside the finished orders.

She bounded up the stairs and got ready. Hope stood in front of her bookcase and scanned her eyes over it all, eventually landing on _And Then There Were None_.

She grinned and grabbed it. As she passed her coat rack on her way back downstairs, her hand instinctively reached for her leather jacket.

It took her a second to retract it, smirking at the memory of what happened to it.

She tucked the book into her hand and went downstairs without a jacket. Going in the back room, she picked out three pots for the succulents, hoping Josie would like them. A pastel blue one, one that was a soft shade of green, and a sunny yellow one. 

She stacked them on top of each other and carried them to the counter, gingerly setting them in the box with the succulents. To go along with the pots, Hope set a small bag of dirt in the box too.

Hope closed the flaps of the box, setting the book on the folded top.

She hefted the box and backed out of the store, flicked the light and the lock on her way out.

Hope carried the box with ease the entire way to Josie's apartment. As she got there, she buzzed her apartment and waited for the door to open.

When it did, she went inside and it dawned on her that this is the first time she had ever been in here. Not only the building, but also Josie's apartment.

A wave of panic suddenly came over Hope. She took a few deep breaths and reminded her that this wasn't any different than any of the other times she had seen Josie.

She made her way up three flights of stairs and passed the letters of the third floor before coming to a stop in front of 3C.

Hope took another deep breath and knocked three times. The door opened to reveal Josie in jeans and a long sleeve shirt.

Josie smiled and said, "Hey. Um, here, let me help you." She reached for the box, and Hope grabbed her book off of the top.

The taller girl took the box to a table and set it down. A dog started circling her feet. She bent down and petted her, saying, "Hi, Apollo. I want you to meet someone. This is Hope."

Apollo ran to greet Hope. The dog started circling her own feet before Hope said, "Hi, Apollo. Nice to meet you," in a baby voice. She knelt and petted her, scratching behind her ears, "She's so soft."

Josie watched the exchange closely, amazed at how well Hope handled her, smiling, she said "Yeah."

Hope stood up and Apollo ran to her bed in the living room. She looked around Josie's apartment. It was mostly one large room divided into smaller sections. She was standing in what she presumed to be the dining room, which was connected to the kitchen and living room. It was very open and Hope loved the decor, especially the bookshelf that took up the majority of one wall. She did, however, notice a bare spot on the wall in the living room. It was the perfect size for a painting. 

Josie turned back to the box and opened it, grinning like a little kid, "Wow, these are great. Thank you."

Hope smiled, "Sure." She set her book face down on the table beside the box, still unsure of what it was for, "I also brought a few pots to put them in. I can help you repot them if you need help."

"I will most definitely need help," she laughed, "How do you take care of these, by the way?" Josie bit her lip and looked at Hope out of the tops of her eyes.

"They need a lot of sunlight, so I would recommend putting them by windows. Water them twice a week, the same days every week, like a schedule."

Josie nodded her head slowly, taking mental notes, "Okay. I think I got it, thanks again." She pulled them out one by one, looking at them closely. She marveled at their beauty, not far off from how Hope marveled at her's.

Hope broke the silence, "Do you like the pots? Because I have more."

"I love them. Thank you, Hope."

Hope blushed slightly at how those words sounded coming from her. A simple thank you attached to her name sounded so much more genuine than it had ever sounded before.

She cleared her throat, "I brought dirt, so we can repot them now if you want."

"Sounds good. How do I do it?" Josie pulled out the dirt and held it in her hand, looking back and forth between it and the plants with a confused expression.

Hope smirked, "Here, I'll show you," she took the dirt from Josie's hand gingerly and moved the box off of the table. "Which plant do you want for the blue pot?"

"That one." She pointed to the spiral aloe.

"Okay," Hope set it in the middle of the table. She held the plant and said, "The first thing you do is take the plant from the original pot and set it in the new one. But, to not hurt its root system, you take all of its old dirt with it."

She tipped the plant and held it upside down, waiting for gravity to do its work. When the dirt began to fall out of the container, she gripped it lightly and set it in the blue pot.

She opened the bag of dirt, "The next thing you do is fill in the space around it with new dirt." Hope shook dirt into the empty spaces and set it back down, "The last thing you have to do is water it. That lets the old dirt kind of combine with the new."

Josie nodded, "Cool." She took the plant and smiled, turning and taking it to the sink, giving it the much needed drink. She came back and set it off to the side, "Can I do the next one?"

"Of course."

Josie grabbed the yellow pot with the burro's tail and did as Hope instructed, tipping it upside down. At first, the dirt started to crumble out, but Hope pointed to the edges and showed her how to hold it properly. When it finally fell out, she set it in the yellow pot and added dirt.

Hope wordlessly watched from beside her, ready to step in and help if she needed her to. But it didn't look like she did.

Josie filled in the empty spaces with a focused look on her face. Satisfied, she went to the kitchen and watered it thoroughly like she did the first time.

She came back and set it next to the first one, "How is that?"

Hope smiled, "Looks perfect. You did great."

Josie beamed, "Thanks." She grabbed the final plant, the hen and chick, and did the same thing, getting a little better at the first step.

She set it next to the other two and looked around her apartment. Settling her eyes on the two windows, one large one and one small one, she picked up the spiral aloe and the burro's tail, taking them to the large window.

Josie moved them around a few times before settling on one position. She came back and grabbed the hen and chick, taking it to the little window and sitting it on the windowsill.

She came back and stood in front of Hope, "Thank you, Hope."

There were those three little words again. Hope smiled and said, "You're welcome, Josie," hoping they held the same clout as her's did.

"So, how was your day?"

"My day was pretty good. How was your day?"

Josie's smile dimmed, "My day was... okay." She diverted her attention to one of the cardboard flaps and started fiddling with the corner.

Hope became concerned and asked, "Why the pause before okay? And why just okay?"

She sighed, "Well, um, apparently my ex is in town. She showed up at the Mystic Mug yesterday, and I just haven't been able to get it out of my mind," her voice thickened, "I mean, she broke my heart."

Hope reached for her hand and softly drew little circles around her knuckles. She understood heartbreak more than she wanted to. She softly asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I mean, she was my first love, and I don't know what happened."

"Yeah, I get that. I had one of those too."

Josie chuckled dryly, "Guess it's bound to happen to everyone."

Almost inaudibly, Hope responded, "Yeah." As she thought about her heartbreak, pieces began to rapidly fall into place, "Wait. I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but does she have short, raven hair?"

Josie's hand tensed, "Yeah, why?"

"Does her name start with a P?"

Her face stoic, her voice devoid of emotion, Josie said her name, "Penelope, yeah. Why?"

Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense. The girl she sold flowers to on Tuesday was Josie's ex. When she saw her later that day, she hadn't been looking at Hope, she had been looking at Josie _with_ Hope.

"I think I sold her flowers on Tuesday." Hope saw Josie's face and her heart broke a little, "I'm so sorry."

Fighting off tears, she said, "Its okay." She managed a small smile, one that was no where near its normal wattage, one that hurt Hope's heart even more.

Hope asked the question she wished she didn't have to, because she knew that it could completely change their outcome, "Did she ever give you the flowers?"

The words of the note ran through her mind. That note, coupled with her heartbreak, could make Josie pull away from her. And that was the last thing she wanted.

Josie sniffled, "Um, no. No, she didn't."

She exhaled a breath she didn't know she holding as she felt a small weight lift off of her shoulders. She didn't know why she felt like she had to compete with Penelope, but she just knew that she wanted to win. She would fight for Josie.

But all she really wanted was for Josie to be happy. And, as much as she wished it could be with her, she knew that it might not be. As long as Josie was happy, it didn't matter.

Hope pulled Josie into a hug, "I'm sorry, Josie."

A single tear rolled down her face, "Its okay, you didn't know."

"Not only for that, but for your broken heart." It physically hurt her heart to see Josie like this. She took a shaky breath and wished, not unlike times before, that she could take all of Josie's pain away. She was a pure soul. She didn't deserve this.

Josie buried her head into Hope's shoulder and took a deep breath. It only dawned on her then that this was their first hug. That thought brightening her mood, she pulled back and put her hands on Hope's shoulders and looked into her eyes, "Its okay, really. I'm over her, but I can still feel the hurt sometimes."

Hope nodded, "But how could anyone ever let you go," she stared into her eyes, her soft but deep, brown eyes, "I mean, you're amazing, and you deserve the world." She only hoped that she could be the one to give it to her.

Josie's smile became genuine as all thoughts of Penelope were washed away. She didn't respond, she just stared into Hope's eyes with a look that she hoped said it all.

After a moment more, Josie took a deep breath and changed the subject, "Did you bring your book?"

Hope turned away from her and picked it up, "Yes, I did. I'm still not entirely sure why I brought this, though. Care to fill in the blanks?"

Josie laughed and held up a different book, "This is my favorite book. We're going to swap, and then read each other's books. Only if you want to, though."

"Yes, I do want to."

Josie beamed, and Hope immediately smiled. She was so happy that she got to be the one to put that grin there.

Josie said, "Great! I'll make some tea." She quickly went into the kitchen and started filling a kettle up with water.

As Josie was putting the water on to boil, she added, "Did you know that when people say 'chai tea' they're actually saying 'tea tea' because chai means tea in Mandarin?"

Hope looked around the apartment and back a Josie, who's back was turned away from her, "I did not know that." She hummed.

The tea pot started to squeal, causing Josie to take it off of the burner. She poured the steaming water into two cups, grabbing two raspberry tea bags and ripping the string open, dropping the pack into the water.

She spun around as Hope watched her work in silence, her head tilted slightly to the side in amusement.

Josie grabbed a jar of honey and a spoon. She turned back to the two mugs of tea and dunked the tea bags into the water a few times. Opening the jar of honey, she dipped the spoon into it and put one spoonful of honey into each mug.

She stirred them both and picked them up, carrying them to stand in front of Hope. Josie held one out and said, "Raspberry tea with honey, I hope you like it."

Hope took the mug out of Josie's outstretched hand and blew on it to cool it down. She took a sip and said, "That's really good."

Josie smiled and took her mug to the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down, patting the spot next to her.

Hope sat down and Josie slid her a coaster for her mug. She set her drink down, and Josie did the same.

Josie picked up her book, "My favorite book is _You Know Me Well_ , what's yours?"

Hope showed Josie the cover, " _And Then There Were None_." Based upon the cover of Josie's book compared to Hope's, it seemed like Hope's book would be a lot darker than Josie's.

Josie handed Hope her book and took her's. She pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch and looked at Hope for approval before spreading it over their laps.

Josie settled into her end of the couch and opened Hope's book, beginning to read the first page. Hope watched her eyes scan the lines for the first paragraph before leaning back and cracking Josie's open.

Silence filled the air around them, the only sound was the turning of pages or the occasional sip of tea.

At one point, Josie accidentally kicked Hope's shin when she was shifting her position on the couch, to which Hope responded with a friendly kick back. With a grin on her face, Josie did it again. 

Hope rolled her eyes and erupted into giggles, and Josie burst into laugher at the sight. They began the most innocent game of footsies, each of them occasionally coming into contact with the other. On accident, of course.

Time ticked by, the sun setting through the windows as one hour became three.

After four hours, Josie shut Hope's book and sighed. Hope, who had finished Josie's book a few minutes earlier, smiled and said, "So, what did you think?"

"I thought it was great. The language was a little hard to get through at first. But it's Agatha Christie, so it was worth it. The mystery was great, and I loved the plot and all of the unexpected twists. What did you think about mine?"

"It was an amazing book. The love stories were great, and the ending was perfect. It really was a beautiful story."

Josie beamed, "This was fun."

Hope smirked at Josie's idea of fun, and smiled at how much she had actually enjoyed it. "Yeah," she stood and stretched, "Well, I should get going."

Josie threw the blanket off of her legs and stood, yawning slightly, "Yeah."

Hope set _You Know Me Well_ on the table and grabbed the book she brought, turning and starting towards the door.

She stopped at the table and put the bag of dirt back in the box along with her book, folding the top and picking it up.

Josie appeared at her side, walking her to the door, "Thank you."

She chuckled, "For what?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, but she did know. She was thanking her for being the person to make her smile, after someone broke her heart. She was thanking her for being there for her this afternoon, for sitting and reading with her for hours.

Josie opened the door while Hope read between the lines, "Well, you're welcome."

The taller girl smiled and said, "Goodnight, Hope."

She had heard those words for the majority of the past week, and they still made her smile, "Goodnight, Josie."

Josie smiled and shut the door slowly, looking at Hope the entire time, trying to get one more second with her, trying to get one more look at her.

When the door clicked closed, Hope sighed and turned, beginning her way back to her apartment, hoping that she could be the reason Josie smiled again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated!


	7. Petunias With Celestial Bodies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a week late, so I apologize. But, life, you know?
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Bee, thank you for all of your help :)

On Friday afternoon, Josie entered the Enchanted Garden like she did every Friday. She walked up to the counter and ordered flowers to take to her mother's grave, like she did every Friday.

Hope throughly enjoyed their routine, and she was ecstatic that this had become more than just a routine. She loved spending time with Josie.

Josie smiled and paid for the flowers, creating light conversation before she asked what she really wanted to.

The small talk ebbed and flowed from one topic to the next without pause. Josie asked one more question before she stopped beating around the bush. Hope answered the question about her day and reciprocated it.

The taller girl fiddled with the flowers, saying she had a good day as well. She looked up at Hope and tried to be blunt, "So, um, there's supposed to be a meteor shower Sunday night, and there's a telescope on the roof of my apartment building. I was wondering if you would want to watch it with me?"

Hope grinned, "I would love to. What time does it start?"

"We won't be able to see it until after dark, so how about eight?" Josie eyes lit up and danced with excitement.

She nodded, "Eight works, I'll see you then." Hope was looking forward to it.

Josie beamed and responded, "Great!" She muttered a few farewell words before giving her one more small smile and turning on her heel, exiting the shop.

Hope sighed, at least she got to see her a day earlier than usual. If she thought three hours seemed like a long time yesterday then two days felt like an eternity.

Saturday went by in a bit of a blur, she had her family dinner, but before that started, the flowers she special ordered for Josie arrived and they easily became the focus of her day.

She wrapped them elegantly, spending a large amount of time picking the paper, making perfect folds and creases. She picked a deep black tissue paper, hoping it would compliment the flowers nicely.

Eventually, Sunday rolled around and Hope started getting excited again. Time seemed to move slower the closer she got to eight, but it never stopped moving all together.

Somehow, she had made it to seven thirty Sunday night and rushed around to get ready. She spent some time picking out her outfit, but settled on her normal look of dark jeans and a t-shirt.

Her arms bare, she went to get a jacket because it would be chilly. Ending up at the coat rack, she mulled it over and grabbed a jacket, slipping it on and pulling her hair out from beneath it.

Her hand had stopped instinctively reaching for her leather jacket, but it still took her brain a second to catch up every time she saw the bare spot on her coat rack.

She found herself standing in front of Josie's apartment building clutching her hard worked upon bouquet at eight sharp. Snapping out of the haze she had been in on the walk over, she pushed the buzzer.

A second later the door opened and Hope started up the stairs to the roof.

Six flights later, she pushed open the door to the roof and was met with the brisk night air of fall. The first thing she saw was Josie setting up a spot to sit on the ground.

She smiled and went over to help, setting the flowers on a nearby chair to free up her hands and saying, "Hey."

Josie grinned, "Hi." She spread a blanket out and started to lay a few pillows down, "We can lay here and look up at the stars while we wait for the meteor shower to start."

Hope nodded, "Okay."

The taller girl laid the last pillow down and said, "It should start soon." 

Josie stood back up and faced Hope, putting her hands in her back pockets and smiling fondly.

Hope tilted her head to the side and studied Josie like she was a mystery she would never solve, yet one she would forever be fascinated with.

Her thoughts wondered, but they led her back to the moment and caused her to remember the flowers.

She took a step forward and grabbed them from the chair, looking at them before moving her eyes to Josie and saying, "Here, um, these are for you."

Josie took them out of Hope's outstretched hand, mesmorized. She took a small but audible breath, and Hope watched her closely.

She let Josie stare at them for a moment more before saying, "These are Petunias. They are known for their unique markings that resemble a starry sky. They are usually purple or blue, or somewhere in that range, and they have white speckles, which looks like a galaxy. They have celestial bodies, and thats why I thought that these would become your favorite flower."

Josie gasped almost invisibly as she listened to Hope, still lost in the beauty of the flowers, her mouth falling slightly agape. She took a breath and attempted to put her thoughts into words, "They're- wow. I-I love them."

Hope broke out into a grin, "I'm glad."

She pulled her eyes away from the bouquet in her hands and looked into the other girl's eyes with an endearing look, "Thank you, Hope."

Her smile widened, "You're welcome, Josie."

Josie smiled a small smile, still awe struck, rendered speechless by the flowers. She looked into them for another minute, then she walked to the nearest chair with a pillow and gingerly set them down, careful not to crinkle the wrapping.

She walked in a silent haze back to Hope, looking at her with wide doe eyes that made Hope's heart squeeze in her chest.

She passed her, looking at her the entire time, and sat down on her makeshift viewing space, patting the spot next to her, causing Hope to sit as well.

Hope laid on her back, gazing up at the speckled sky, "Wow. You can see a lot of stars right now."

Josie had turned off the roof light a little bit earlier so it would be darker for them, and their eyes had adjusted. The night sky was covered with an innumerable amount of little dots of light.

The taller girl laid down next to her and looked up, "Yeah," she pointed to one set for Hope to see, "That's Pisces, my zodiac sign. It's supposed to represent a fish, with the head being there," she pointed, "and the body and tail being there," she traced the line with her finger.

Hope followed Josie's hand and watched her point out the constellation.

Josie lowered her arm, "What's your zodiac sign?"

"Taurus," Hope said, settling in next Josie, feeling the warmth coming from her, wanting desperately to hold her hand.

She turned her head, searching for it, before raising her hand again to point out her constellation, "Taurus is supposed to represent a bull, with the horns being there," she pointed, "and the body being there."

Josie lowered her hand again and looked up at the stars. She loved nights like these, when the sky was covered in stars for as far as you could see. It made her think about life as a whole, about how small she really was.

Hope sighed and asked, "How do you know so much about stars?"

In the dark, Josie smiled, "My mom used to take me to the planetarium all the time when I was little. We would go at least three times a month, usually once a week. There were things for little kids, but my mom always took me to the big exhibits. She would say, 'Age shouldn't limit what you can learn.' That's why I wanted to learn so much about the stars, because she let me."

Hope let her hand fall off of her stomach and into the small space between them, searching for the hand that fit so well in her own. She found it and was able to hear the smile on Josie's face as she hummed in response.

Josie took a breath and continued, feeling Hope's hand give her comfort, "I remember one year for my birthday my mom got me this giant book with pictures and information all about stars. I spent hours on every constellation, memorizing every line on the pages. I think that's the book I've read more than any other."

She paused, smiling fondly at the memories. The days when her mother would take her to the planetarium were some of her favorite days from her childhood.

Hope hummed, letting Josie have a second of silence, knowing that the good memories were how she was going to get through this loss.

Josie added, "Because of that, I've always loved the stars. You know those stick-on glow-in-the-dark stars? I put them up all over my room when I was a kid. At night, after one of my parents tucked me in, I would lay on my back and stare up at them, daydreaming until I fell asleep. I would make up stories in my head about going to space or saving the galaxy. I would picture the constellations I had learned about in my book, using the stars to trace them out." Her voice got small, "Eventually they lost their glow, but I never took them down."

Hope smiled a small smile into the dark of the night, not entirely sure why she was smiling. A peaceful silence fell between them as they stars above them twinkled. 

She intertwined their fingers and sighed quietly, asking, "What's your favorite planet?"

"Pluto."

Of course it was. Of course Josie's favorite planet was Pluto. Hope smiled in spite of herself and said, "I love Pluto."

"Me too," she sat up, dropping Hope's hand and standing, "Come here, I'll show you another planet through the telescope."

Hope stood, following her to the edge of the roof where a telescope stood behind a thick barrier.

She turned it slightly while looking through it, "You can see Venus."

She stepped back and gestured for Hope to take a look. She bent down slightly and peered through the lens. "Wow."

"Yeah, Venus is the Roman mythology equivalent of Aphrodite, goddess of love. That's who the planet was named after."

"So, along with constellations, you know about planets too? You're brilliant." Hope stood up and looked at her, her eyes gleaming with astonishment.

Josie blushed slightly, stuttering out, "Thank you, Hope."

She nodded and grinned, her heart fluttering in her chest.

Josie diverted her attention away from Hope and towards the sky. Thankful for a subject change, she gasped, "Look, the meteor shower is starting."

Hope looked at Josie, whose face was lit up with excitement, for a second before looking at the meteor shower. It was awe-inspiring.

Deciding to live in the moment, she blocked out her thoughts and stared at the sky.

She watched one meteor shoot across the night sky, making a wish on it as if it was a shooting star.

Hope lowered her head and looked at Josie, who was still gazing upwards. She took a breath and said, "You know, the stars are beautiful, but they could never compare to you."

Josie brought her eyes to Hope's, fully hearing what she was saying, "O-oh?"

Hope looked at the girl beside her and the rest of the world fell away. Her heart hammering in her chest, she breathlessly asked, "Can I kiss you?"

Josie's heart race quickened, feeling the air around them electrify with an indescribable current.

As the meteors shot over their heads, creating the perfect backdrop, Josie leaned in and closed the small gap separating them, doing something she had been wishing for since the day she met her.

The two melted together, a soft kiss taking both of their breath's away.

Hope put one hand on Josie's waist and burried the other in her hair.

Josie cupped Hope's face with one hand and put the other on the small of her back, trying to draw her even closer.

Their bodies became one as it was impossible to tell where one girl started and the other stopped, no space left between them.

They fit together perfectly, like two missing pieces of the same puzzle.

Hope smiled into the kiss, reluctantly pulling away and staring into Josie's eyes, searching to see the thoughts that could always be found there.

Josie grinned and leaned forward again, closing her eyes and kissing her softly.

Hope let herself move into her again, getting lost in the way her lips felt against her own, never wanting it to end.

It was Josie who pulled away this time, still furnishing a grin, "That was- wow."

"I agree, wow." Hope glanced at the ground and laughed lightly, still on a  high from the kiss.

Josie giggled too, the world around her spinning as she tried to catch her breath and steady her palpitating heartbeat.

Failing, she took Hope's hand in her own and turned to look out on the sky. She sighed and tucked her head into Hope's shoulder, her eyes fluttering open and closed.

Hope registered Josie and leaned her head to rest on top of her's, still euphoric and hazy. Her thoughts were running together, muddled due to the ghost of Josie's lips that she could still feel.

Before long, Josie was guiding her by her hand back to the makeshift spot she had set up. Josie waited for Hope to lay down before she laid down beside her, cuddling into her side and placing her head on Hope's chest.

Josie sighed in content, the sound of Hope's heartbeat was oddly calming. She closed her eyes for a moment more before rolling onto her back to watch the meteors shoot across the sky, but she didn't dare move away from Hope's side.

Hope scooted slightly to close the single gap left between them, fully pushing the two of them together, proving even further that they fit together perfectly.

Without another word, Hope moved her hand to the mid section of their single form, finding Josie's and locking their fingers together in a way that was loose, but stating very plainly at the same time that she didn't want to let go.

Josie traced little circles with her thumb on Hope's fingers while making a quiet sigh next to her. Hope sighed in response, knowing exactly what both of them were saying without putting it into words.

The meteors shot over head and Hope watched each one of them, trying to commit every sensory detail to memory as to never forget anything about this night. This had by far been her favorite night with Josie yet, but she knew that there would be one that would tie or even top it. And she couldn't wait until she got to experience that with her too.

Josie silently sensed Hope's presence, allowing it to put her in a state of calm while she watched the shower and looked at the little stars overhead.

Hope turned her head slightly, looking at the one thing that she would rather be looking at, Josie. She smiled and watched her features as her eyes lit up watching the spectacle in front of them.

Josie felt her eyes upon her and turned her head to look at her, grinning slightly, "Hi."

Hope laughed lightly and leaned forward, closing the gap and kissing her softly.

Josie pulled back and tucked her head into the crook on Hope's neck, angling it so she could hear the blood pumping through her body as a reminder that she was there and so she could see the sky.

Hope's eyes fluttered closed as she laid her head back down, sliding her arm around Josie's shoulders at the same time. She propped open her eyes and stared into the night sky, thinking about how they were so small compared to the rest of the universe.

She knew that in the grand scheme of things, this would be but a blip in the space time continuum, but it was something bigger for her. This night, this one single night, had blown her entire world into perspective.

Her world seemed so much more vibrant and happy, and it was all because of Josie. Hope stroked Josie's shoulder, reaching down and laying her arm on her other side, setting it next to Josie's, making sure that she knew she was there. 

She also wanted to make sure she knew Josie was there.

Hope took a breathe and exhaled, feeling her heartbeat. It wasn't pounding, it was peaceful and rythmtic. She was calm.

She let this feeling wash over her and it made her heart flutter just a little bit, knowing that she felt comfortable around Josie, and only hoping she felt the same.

Josie stared at the stars and let herself be acutely aware of their current placements yet untethered from the scene as well. Her mind wondered, boucing from daydream to reality in a frenzy of nostalgia and emotion.

She thought about the stars, tracing them with her eyes and instantly knowing the constellation they formed. She thought about the reason why she knew those things, she thought about her mom.

But for the first time in a long time, it wasn't sad thoughts. She hadn't had a sad thought the entire night, not when she was reminiscing with Hope, and not now.

It made her smile, and she knew that it was Hope who had helped her reach this point. The point where sad didn't have to be the default, where she could be happy too.

She was naturally happy, but that only meant she knew how to hide sadness. But there was nothing to hide right now. She was completely, purely happy.

And she loved it. It was almost like it was a dream, like this wasn't actually real, like she would wake up right before she got to the best part. Like she would slowly forget it, only having a nagging feeling about it for a little while before all traces of it were gone.

If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up. But she knew that she could never forget this, even if it was a dream, because it was too monumental of a rare occurrence to ever leave the depths of her memory.

Josie sighed once more and snuggled into Hope's side impossibly closer, knowing that they would have to get up at some point, but wishing for just a second more on the meteor that was shooting across the sky.

Not only that, but she wished that there would be an innumerable amount more of these stolen moments.

Hope watched as meteor shower came to a close, treating the last meteor like a shooting star and wishing for Josie to never leave her side.

It was times like these that made Hope realize the gravity of her being, almost like she was floating outside of her body looking down on the situation, giving her a third person perspective on life.

What she saw tonight was two girls wrapped up in each other's arms like they were the only people in the world who mattered to each other.

And what she saw was correct. They were tangled up in each others arms, keeping the world at bay and knowing that all they really needed was each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
> 
> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, they are much appreciated, as always.


	8. Common Daisies With Fragile Strength

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

On Monday morning it seemed like nothing and everything had the ability to remind Josie of Hope.

She woke up to be able to feel the oncoming rain in the air and it reminded her of Hope. She loved the rain.

She moved around slowly and quietly, letting the feeling in the air and the lack of feeling in her drive her to hold herself as if she was floating.

On her way to work the sky was gray and cloudy, and the air smelled like rain. The sidewalk was dry and Josie could heard thunder randomly. She smiled and knew that the peaceful rain was coming.

For once in a long time, she wasn't worried about getting to work late. She took her time, breathing in the morning.

She passed by Hope's flower shop and bent down to smell the flower of the week. The store was dark, and Josie knew that she was most likely still in bed. She thought of Hope, and she hoped she was getting some sleep.

It had been a late night last night, but Josie wouldn't have traded it for the world. They laid up on that roof until one of them started to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Josie didn't know who it was first, but she did remember the oddly comfortable feeling she felt at one time, but she also had the vague memory of hearing Hope's steady rise and fall, and stroking her hair slowly.

She sighed and turned away from the shop, setting her sights on the place she knew Hope would come in a few short hours.

Josie took it step by step, paying attention to the world around her. She heard the faint chirping of birds, and she knew where they were coming from. The park. And she thought of Hope.

She didn't count the slats in the sidewalk this morning, her mind was both in the moment and in the clouds at the same time.

She saw a little flower breaking it's way through a sidewalk crack. It was yellow and it looked fragile, but it was still pushing it's way into the world. And she thought of Hope.

She reached the coffee shop and tried to see what was so special about it that could cause a girl like Hope Mikaelson to pick it, how did the universe align so perfectly to cause her to meet her.

She saw an ordinary hipster coffee shop with a bland exterior, minus a sign and a few hanging plants. She saw nothing that could cause a girl like Hope Mikaelson to pick it, but she was glad she did.

Maybe it had nothing to do with the shop, maybe the universe just wanted to throw them together. Maybe it was all circumstantial. That possibility made her wonder how completely unlikely it was.

The place, the time, the girl. There were so many factors that had to line up just right, or else none of it would have happened.

If she was lying, she would say that that thought didn't affect her. But it did.

Of all the people, of all the places. The sheer probability was so low that Josie wondered how it had ever happened in the first place.

But maybe that's what made it meant to be.

She pushed open the door to the coffee shop and heard the bell jingle. She smiled and thought of Hope, knowing that the bell would signal her arrival in a short yet excruciatingly long time.

She looked around and tried to see the inside with a different view as well. The lights were soft and she heard MG opening a box in the stockroom.

Nothing about it seemed like the place some extraordinary feats of luck would take place. She just wanted to understand how she could have been so lucky.

Maybe it wasn't about luck or the universe, or some far fetcted miracle-esque occurrence. Maybe it just was.

Josie sighed half in content and half in wonderment. She took one more dreamy look at the place around her and walked behind the counter, going into the stockroom and clocking in.

She said good morning to MG and started helping him unpack a box and set up for the day.

When they were finished with that box, Josie went to register and waited for the first few early morning customers to stumble in.

She leaned up against the counter and turned her head slightly to the side, managing to find her and Hope's table without even trying.

She glanced at the clock and attempted not to count the minutes until it was the time when Hope would normally come in.

It was nearly impossible to do though, but she knew Hope was still asleep, and she wanted her to get rest so she could have a good day.

Hope, however, never actually went to bed.

After begrudgingly getting up from their spot on the roof and saying goodnight, she came home in a haze, euphoric, and immediately went to her easel.

She lifted a brand new, pristenly white canvas and positioned it in the middle.

Hope set her paints out and picked each color carefully, putting more thought into the color and how it would work for the painting than she would put into most things as small as this.

But this wasn't small. The image in her mind began to bleed out onto the canvas through a series of frenzied but calculated strokes.

It began as a starry backdrop, filled with all hues of blacks and blues. Then it transformed to add a building with a roof.

She used yellows and whites to paint stars and constellations and some patches of red for meteors shooting across the sky. 

She took a couple of colors and blended them together, painting Pluto far off in the background. She combined a few other colors and added Venus closer to the front.

The finishing touch was a little area on the roof. A red blanket topped with pillows of all colors became their spot.

She fiddled with her brush and stepped back, scrutinizing every single stroke on the canvas.

Hope was her own worst critic, and this painting had to be perfect, but she was proud of how it came out.

She looked at it for a moment more, squinting her eyes and turning her head to see every detail, and then she yawned.

Yawning once more, she realized that it was morning. Hope squinted her eyes and looked around the room, not yet feeling the full effect of staying up all night.

She shook her head out and set her brush down, grabbing a cloth and heading to the sink to try and get the paint off of her hands.

Hope scrubbed for a few minutes before finally giving up and washing out her brushes instead.

She cleaned up her paints and left the canvas alone to dry. Looking at the clock, she realized that it was almost time for her to go see Josie.

She started towards the door before realizing that she was still in the same clothes from yesterday. So she quickly ran through the shower and changed into new clothes. She was a little later than usual, but she was presentable. 

Hope dashed out the door into a light sprinkling of rain. She held out her hand and let the rain fall on her for a second before starting towards the Mystic Mug.

Hurrying down the sidewalk, she noticed a small flower growing up through the cracks. It was a common yellow daisy. 

It made her pause, slowing her step and admiring its strength. From first look, it was small and breakable. But if you looked closer you could see that it was breaking through the sidewalk in an effort to live, even little plants had the undying desire to live.

She stopped and took a breath before pulling open the door and greeting the place she owed so much to with a smile and a small sigh.

Hope walked up to the counter and grinned wordlessly at Josie.

Josie grinned back and said, "Hi."

They gazed into each others eyes long enough that MG had time to stand and look between them for a few second before clearing his throat and turning away with his eyes pointed anywhere but them.

Josie blushed and glanced downwards and Hope giggled. Josie coughed and said, "I'll make your drink for you."

"Sounds good. Maybe you could tell me what it is this time?" Hope pryed.

The blush dissipated and Josie laughed, "Nice try, but not a chance. Maybe next time, though," she winked and watched Hope get flustered.

Josie turned away with another laugh, filling a to-go cup with an unidentifiable liquid, no matter how hard Hope tried to see what it was by craning her neck and squinting. 

She stood back and raised an eyebrow as Josie set her drink down in front of her, "Thank you."

Hope reached for it, and Josie noticed her hands, "You've been painting?"

Her paint stained hands were a dead giveaway, but her heart still skipped a beat when she heard the question, afraid that Josie already knew about the painting. She took a sip and nodded, "Yeah, I got a burst of inspiration."

Josie smirked and hummed, "Can I see it?"

"You'll see it in due time, just as I'll know what this drink is in due time."

Josie frowned slightly and huffed playfully, "That's fair."

Hope paid for her drink and looked out the window. The rain was coming down harder now, and it looked like it was about to start pouring.

She wondered if she should make a run for it, but then she smirked as she realized that the rain gave her an excuse to stay. "Wow, it's really coming down out there."

Josie looked up from the counter, "Oh, yeah it is," she smiled, "I love the rain."

Hope looked at Josie, "Me too."

Josie was still looking at the rain, her hand mindlessly cleaning the counter at the same time, but Hope was looking at her.

Hope hummed, drawing Josie from her trance, "I think I should stay here and wait out the rain."

"Yeah, you should," Josie grinned. The rain would deter people from coming in, so maybe she could spend some time with Hope. At the very least, she got to be there with her.

The shorter girl turned with her mystery drink and walked to the bookshelf, looking at Josie's books again.

It looked completely different since the last time she had been there. It was color coded in a rainbow, and it also appeared to be organized by genre. Josie never ceased to amaze Hope, she only wondered when she had the time to do something so cool like this.

She took a sip of her drink and found that Josie was now standing beside her, "The bookshelf looks amazing."

"Thanks," Josie smiled, "So, the rain is going to make it a slow day, do you want to talk?"

"I would love to." Hope turned and walked over to the table they had sat at on their first date and took a seat.

Josie followed and said, "I want to know more about you."

Hope smiled, she cared about her. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything, everything." Josie said it almost like she was exhaling.

Where did she begin? Anything and everything was an extremely broad subject, but it also meant that she could start anywhere.

So, she did, "My favorite color is deep red. I'm an only child. I love to paint, it's an escape from the world for me. I opened my own flower shop because flowers have been important to me since that day with my dad. I think I'm falling for you. My favorite season is Autumn. I'm bi. My favorite animal is a wolf. My middle name is Andrea." She paused, thinking, humming quietly in the process.

Josie heard all of the words she said, but one part stuck out in particular, "What?"

Hope looked at her, "What?"

"You said- are you really falling for me?" Her voice rose, she couldn't believe it.

Hope smiled a genuine small smile, "Yes, Josie, I really am falling for you."

Time seemed to stop, or slow, as Josie uttered her next words breathlessly, "I'm falling for you too."

The only thing Hope wanted to do right then was kiss Josie, but she couldn't seem to make her body move to her. All she could do was grin like a fool and hope that said it all.

And it did, as Josie grinned back at her and it did say it all. They were falling for each other, and it was nothing like what either of them had ever felt before.

Sure, they had their past loves, but this one was different, and they could both feel it. They didn't know how to describe it, it just was.

So as they got lost in each other's eyes and the world fell away, they didn't try to fight it. They didn't try to keep their hearts guarded with their walls up. They let the other person in and allowed themselves to be vulnerable.

Because falling for someone was making yourself vulnerable. It was a flutter in your chest, a whisper on their lips.

Some would even say that falling for someone is more dangerous than skydiving. At least you have a parachute when you skydive. When you're falling for someone, there's nothing to catch you.

But they could catch each other.

And that's the thing that made it all worth it, having someone to catch you when you fall.

Somewhere far off in the distance, a bell jingled and yanked them both from their trance. Almost as if on cue, Josie jumped up and went to the register, and Hope watched her go. 

She could stare into those deep brown eyes for eternity and never stop finding things to look at. It was so cliche, like a horrible teen romcom. Hope had always said she would never be like the people in those movies, but then she met Josie.

Hope silently observed her, watching the way she carried herself. It looked like she floated on air, flitting from one thing to the next.

She watched for a moment more before turning her attention to the world outside the windows. It was pouring. There was no way she was getting back now, and she wondered why anyone would brave this weather just for their Monday morning coffee.

She would brave this weather for her Monday morning coffee, but it wouldn't be for the coffee. It had never been about the coffee.

Hope looked at Josie and back to the rain and at the clock. She really did need to open her shop. 

But, then again, who would be buying flowers in this weather? That seemed like excuse enough to stay before she remembered that people placed phone orders too.

She watched the clock tick down a minute and mulled her options over. She rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. 

The only thing she wanted to do was stay with Josie, but her real world responsibilties were beckoning her.

She compromised with herself and said that she would make a run for it the next time it let up, because it didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon anyways.

Hope sat back and waited for Josie to come back, and she did a few minutes later.

Josie sat down and said, "Hey, I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be, it's all good." Hope sighed and leaned foward, trying to make her see that she didn't have to be her first priority, it was selfish of her to want to be.

Josie rested her arms on the table, "So, you were telling me about yourself, and about how you're falling for me," her face lit up as she spoke the last few words.

Hope chuckled, "Yes, I was. What else do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me."

"Okay," she laughed. She wanted to tell her everything, but where did she start? 

She thought about it for a second before deciding on an eye for an eye, she knew about Penelope, so it was only fair that Josie could know about her heartbreak.

"Well, I can tell you about my heartbreak the way you told me about yours, if you want?"

Josie tensed, but this was a good thing. It meant that she trusted her and that she was comfortable around her. She exhaled, "Okay, yeah, sure."

Hope took a deep breath, "My version of," she looked at Josie to see if she could say her name, and saw that her eyes were guarded, but soft, "Penelope was named Landon. We found each other when we were both lonely and when we needed someone, so we became that someone for each other. We were the outsiders, so it made sense."

She forged on, remembering their social standard while adding vague details about the ending, "It lasted a while, and I got in too deep, when he didn't. Eventually, he saw that I wasn't what he wanted anymore, so he left. It hurt, and it took a while to not be hurt anymore. You were the first person after him that I let myself be vulnerable for, because you're worth the risk."

Josie looked at her for a second before a small version of her voice said, "The risk of what?"

"Getting hurt."

An _oh_ escaped Josie's lips in the form of an exhale. She was silent for a moment, "You're worth the risk too." Her serious expression was lifted with a light smile, "Thank you for trusting me with that."

Hope smiled in response and noticed that the rain outside was letting up, and with it their time. She sighed, "I should make a run for it while I have the chance."

Josie almost looked disappointed, "Oh, okay, yeah."

"Its not that I want to, believe me," she added with something that was akin to disappointment too.

That seemed to help lessen Josie's worries and doubts, "Okay."

Hope hesitated standing, hesitated leaving, but she had to. So she did. She stood, and Josie did too. Picking up her empty cup and throwing it away, she grabbed the door handle, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." 

Josie watched her leave, and it was hard to see her walk away from her. Not because she thought that it would be the last time she saw her, but because she didn't want to see her leave her.

Hope sighed as the door shut behind her, the rain had slowed to a drizzle a few minutes ago, but it was picking back up again. She wrapped her jacket around her torso and started walking.

She made it a few steps before the rain started to come quicker, so she picked up her pace as well.

She was halfway back to her shop when she heard her name called out behind her, "Hope!"

Hope turned and watched Josie jog to her, "Josie?" Her hair was wet and her shoulders were soaked, and she was beautiful.

"You forgot something."

Her mind blanked. She spoke up as the rain started to pour, "Oh? What did I forget?"

"This."

Josie leaned forward and kissed her softly, pulling away after a moment to put her forehead on Hope's and say, "You forgot this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated.


	9. Scotch With Relationships On The Rocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know it's been so long and I'm sorry but thank you for sticking around, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Hope was standing at her counter, resting her chin on the palm of her hand and staring off into space, thinking about Josie.

Josie.

That's all Hope ever thought about. She made her happy. And she only hoped that she did the same for her.

She sighed and blinked dreamily, still lost in thought while the rest of the world around her was a silent haze.

Hope stood up straight and looked around, it had been a slow day and, as the clock ticked on, it didn't look like it was going to pick up.

Just as she was going back down the rabbit hole of daydreaming about Josie, her cell phone rang.

And who else could it have been but Josie, the one person she wanted to get a call from.

Hope answered with a smile, "Hi."

But Josie rushed forward, clearly flustered and nervous, "Hope! My family is dropping by in a few hours for dinner." Her voice sounded panicked, but it was clear she was trying to put on a brave facade and act like she wasn't freaking out.

"That's a good thing, right? What's wrong?"

She could practically hear Josie look at the ground and choose her next words carefully, "I don't know. They called a few minutes ago and said that they wanted to have Thanksgiving dinner with me. Today. Now. In a few hours."

Hope was confused, "But... it's October?"

"I'm aware. Apparently they're both busy for the next six weeks, or something. I don't know." The panic started to creep back into her voice.

"Hey, it's okay. What can I do to help?" 

Her voice seemed to calm her somewhat but she was still overwhelmed, "I-I don't know. Hope, what do I do? Will you, um, come over?"

Hope smiled, "It's going to be okay, okay? Of course I'll come over, do I need to bring anything?"

"Bring anything? For what?"

"It's Thanksgiving dinner, do I need to bring any food?"

Josie's brain short-circuited, "I don't have anything. Can you go to the store for me while I clean up my apartment? I'll pay you back."

Hope was happy to do it, "No need. Just give me a list and I'll be there as soon as possible."

She could hear the sigh of relief before she started listing off things she could make. Hope quickly wrote them down and confirmed the list.

Hope was about to hang up before Josie's voice rang out again, "Hey, Hope?"

"Yeah, Josie?"

"Thank you."

And those two little words were enough to make her grin like a fool. Those two little words were enough to remind her why she did what she did, she just wanted to make Josie happy.

"You don't have to thank me, I'm happy to do it anytime."

And with that Josie sighed, smiled, and shook her head, "Goodbye, Hope."

She hung up and Hope looked at the clock. She could close early, this was more important. 

Walking upstairs, she got ready quickly and tried to look presentable. She didn't know if Josie wanted her to stay for the dinner or not, but she needed to be ready either way.

She might be meeting Josie's family today. Woah. A wave of panic washed over Hope and she tried to take a few steady deep breaths.

This was going to be okay. She could do this, right? Right. She was Hope Mikaelson, a girl who was falling so hard for Josie that she couldn't even stop to think about the fall.

She ran a hand through her hair and grabbed the list, starting downstairs. Hope flicked the light off before grabbing a pre-made bouquet off the table next to the door.

With her reusable bags in hand, she walked to the store and bought all of the things on Josie's list.

Close to only an hour later, Hope was buzzing up for Josie's apartment trying to balance bags and a bouquet for the centerpiece.

She made her way up the stairs and did her best to knock, having stood in front of the door for a moment just looking at it because her hands were full.

The taller brunette opened the door with a smile and ushered her in, grabbing some of the bags to help her carry them.

Hope sat the remaining bags along with the centerpiece on the table, "Okay, I think I got everything on the list."

"That's great, Hope. You're a lifesaver." Josie started unpacking bags and putting things away before almost immediately getting them right back out again to cook.

"Is there anything else I can do to help?" She felt weird just standing there, watching.

Josie looked up from the dish she had begun, "Um, I don't think so. I cleaned while you were gone and now all that's left is to cook, and that won't take long. I picked easy recipes."

Hope nodded, "So do you want me to go or?" She trailed off. She wanted Josie to ask her to stay.

"Actually, could you, maybe, stay? I mean, only if you want to. It's just, I need you."

Her heart was beating out of her chest. Josie needed her. "Of course I'll stay." 

She smiled. Josie looked into her eyes and smiled back. She held the gaze for a second more before looking back down to mix something up.

Hope gathered up the bags she brought and unwrapped the flowers, asking Josie if she had a vase.

When she did, Hope got it out and added the flowers to it, setting them in the middle of the table.

Hope didn't try to get Josie to talk, she knew she would if she wanted to. She just gave her some quiet to work through all of the things running through her mind.

It wasn't long after Josie and Hope had finished setting the table that the buzzer for the apartment went off, signaling someone was here.

Josie looked at Hope as her breath caught in her throat. This was it.

She forced herself to breathe and buzz them up. It felt like an eternity for them to climb the three flights.

It felt like even longer for Josie to cross to the door and open it when they knocked, to back up a few steps and invite them in.

Alaric Saltzman took one small, slow step into the apartment. He took one more before Lizzie Saltzman barged in ahead of him.

Josie froze, Hope could see every emotion running through her eyes. Fear, anxiety, happiness, sadness, love.

Hope wanted to take her hand, she wanted to ground her and remind her to breathe.

But she couldn't. So she stood in a similar frozen manner and watched the scene unfold around her.

Alaric stood cemented in place only three steps in from the door, eyes darting around the room. Lizzie stood with her arms crossed, looking disaprovingly at her surroundings while simultaneously glaring at Josie.

Josie stood still, afraid to speak or even move.

To Hope's surprise, Alaric broke the silence, "Josette-" the three collectively winced, "J-Josie. Thank you for having us over for dinner. We've missed you."

Hope had barely known this man for all of five minutes, and she already didn't like him. Maybe it was biased, but she didn't have much respect for him, not that she would ever act on that or whisper a word of her disapproval to Josie.

Josie, whose big doe eyes were so, so sad. How could he say that to her? As if he hadn't avoided her for months, borderline disowned her. As if he hadn't treated Josie like-

Hope could feel her jaw tense with anger and fury, and a strong sense of protection. She fought the urge to tell them both off on Josie's behalf, because she knew Josie would never do it.

But now was not the time. So she stood up straighter and forced a warm smile.

Josie seemed to snap back to reality, speaking up to say, "I missed you guys too," in such a small and vulnerable voice it broke Hope's heart.

Filled with sadness, her anger bubbled up again. She took a deep breath and tried to call herself down.

This night was for Josie, and Hope refused to ruin it. If they broke her heart again, then Hope could tell them off, but not before picking up the pieces too.

She was here for Josie, and that would be here number one priority. She she waited to see where to go from here.

Then she heard the blonde's voice, "Hi, Josie. What a quaint place you have here."

And there went Hope's anger again.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before, Liz."

And there was that sad, vulnerable, hopeful voice again.

Hope did not know how to feel, or act.

"Oh, well, it's just been so long since I've been welcome here."

"You've always been welcome."

A beat of silence passed. Alaric was clearly uncomfortable, and Hope couldn't blame him. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and tried to assess the situation. He cleared his throat.

The silence droned on as Lizzie huffed and rolled her eyes.

Hope forced a smile and took a step towards Josie. Only then did either of them register her presence.

Lizzie tilted her head to the side, "Who's this trollop?"

Alaric shot her a look. With a smile, he rephrased his daughter's words, "Who's this?"

Josie looked at Hope with a small smile, but her face was still filled with stress, but it was softer now than before. "This is Hope, my, uh, my, um," she trailed off, not really sure what to call her. After all, what were they?

But Hope finished her sentence for her, "Girlfriend. I'm Hope, Josie's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you." After saying the word _girlfriend_ her smile wasn't forced anymore.

Josie looked into her eyes and smiled. That smile was enough to make Hope grin, and the two shared an unspoken moment.

Josie couldn't hold back the overwhelming smile that took hold of her face as she cleared her throat and said, "This is Hope, my girlfriend."

Hope beamed. Girlfriend.

This little moment, this little word, this little title, was enough to make Hope and Josie forget about the strife and conflict they still had to answer to.

Alaric spoke up, "It's nice to meet you, Hope. I'm Alaric."

Lizzie sized her up, not uncrossing her arms or softening her stance. "I'm Lizzie.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Saltzman and Lizzie."

Introductions went well-ish. At least they made it through the first ten minutes.

Now all that was left was the dinner. Josie said, "The food is ready, if you guys are ready to eat?"

"That's what we came here for, Jo." Lizzie started toward the table and pulled a chair out, plopping down and crossing her arms again.

"Right. Uh, well then let's eat." Josie diverted her eyes toward the ground and went to her chair opposite from Lizzie. Hope sat next to her, and Alaric next to Lizzie.

Alaric brought scotch, but no one but him drank any. The rest of the group had water. He offered to share, but everyone else politely declined.

The meal started with a tense silence, no one really knew what to say. Somewhere in the middle someone spoke up and started light small talk, no one really knew who the first person to talk was. By the end, they were talking and laughing.

Hope sat back in her chair and marveled at the scene in front of her. She wasn't really a part of it, but she didn't mind. She was just glad that things were better. 

She was happy that Josie was happy.

She watched the three laugh at some story one of them was telling, and she laughed along. Sometimes she would jut in with a comment or a question, but mostly she stayed silent.

This may be the night she first met Josie's family, but tonight wasn't the night they would interrogate her. Tonight was the night when bonds would be repaired.

And that's what happened. When the two first set foot into Josie's apartment tonight, they were on thin ice, shaky ground, their relationships had been on the rocks. Now, as the sun set and the food disappeared from the table, it was as though things were right with them again.

Hope wasn't entirely sure how they managed to overcome months of building resentment, but they did. Maybe it was just for one night, maybe they would be on shaky terms again soon, maybe they had just missed each other so much more than they had even realized that they put aside everything that had happened for one night. But either way, Josie was happy and smiling and laughing. And that was all that mattered.

She knew that their relationship wasn't perfect just yet, it would never be perfect, but she knew things still weren't as good as they could be, or had been in the past. But they were well on their way to that.

They started reminiscing, Alaric was telling a story about when the girls were little, about the games they would play together.

Josie looked a little embarrassed, because Hope was listening very intently, but mostly she looked like those were fond memories that she hadn't thought about in a while.

Lizzie no longer exuded the stone cold bitch energy she had earlier, her voice was softer now and she was letting her heart out.

Alaric dove into another story, this time one about a family vacation they had taken. It included their mom, and they all seemed a little sad when he started telling it. But by the end of it, they were smiling again, and Hope knew that it was good to remember the good times they had all had together.

Well into a third story, Lizzie yawned slightly, and Hope glanced at the clock. It was getting late.

Alaric finished the story and the table well into a comfortable silence. None of them wanted to get up but they knew they had to. This was just the first in a series of family dinners that they could have.

Lizzie yawned again and Alaric yawned in response, chuckling lightly, "I guess that means we should go, huh?"

Josie's face fell, and Hope noticed. She took her hand under the table and made little circles with her thumb on the top of her hand. 

Josie didn't want this night to end, she was afraid she wouldn't get another one like it. Things had fallen apart before, why couldn't they again?

But she mustered a smile and said, "Yeah, I guess so. I had a good time tonight."

Lizzie started to stand, "I did too, Jo." She seemed like she meant it.

Alaric stood and stretched, "We should do this again soon, girls."

Josie's face lit up, "Yeah, we should." She stood up and walked to stand between them, ready to escort them to the door.

The blonde twin smiled and nodded before looking at Josie and saying, "I'm sorry. I was awful to you, for no reason. I just- I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me, because I love you."

Josie held back for a second, shocked. Then she threw her arms around Lizzie and hugged her tightly, "It's okay. I'm just glad we're okay now. I love you too."

Lizzie hugged her back, and Alaric watched them with a relieved smile on his face. This was good.

Josie pulled away after a few more moments and went to hug her father, "I love you, dad."

He returned the hug and said, "I love you too, baby."

She hugged him tighter for a second more before pulling away again and taking a shaky deep breath. Hope thought she saw her wipe underneath her eyes with her knuckle but she wasn't sure.

Josie walked them to the door and they said their goodbyes. Lizzie hugged Josie again. Alaric kissed Josie on her the top of her head and patted her on her back. It was a little show of affection, but it meant a lot to Josie.

She shut the door behind them with a wave and another goodbye, sighing as she leaned against the closed door.

Hope walked up in front of her and took her hand again, focusing on it and tracing little circles like she had done earlier, "That went well, yeah?"

"Yeah, it did." She smiled at her.

Josie walked to the table and started gathering up dishes, stacking them on top of each other and carrying them to the sink.

Hope helped, letting them work in silence so Josie could process everything that had happened.

Once all the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, they collapsed on the couch next to each other. 

Josie leaned her head on Hope for a second before raising it to look in her eyes, and it was only then that she spoke. "So, girlfriend, huh?"

Hope felt her cheeks heat up and she grinned sheepishly, "If you want to be, yeah."

"Oh, Hope, I would love to be."

Hope beamed, and Josie beamed back. "Then I guess it's settled, girlfriend."

"Girlfriend."

Josie snuggled in closer and brought her lips to Hope's, kissing her girlfriend softly. Her heart was thudding methodically and she knew that tonight had been a good night.

Hope raised her hand to cup Josie's neck before breaking away and tucking a piece of hair behind Josie's ear, smiling softly while gazing into her eyes.

"What?" Josie inquired.

"Oh, nothing. Just- you're beautiful, you know? And I'm so lucky to get to call you my girlfriend."

It was Josie's cheeks that heated up this time, and she stumbled over her words, only managing a soft _oh_.

Hope pulled her closer and let her lay her head on her chest again, ending the night with her girlfriend falling asleep in her arms for a few minutes.

She woke up far too soon for Hope's liking, but when she started to stir she buried her head into Hope's chest and sighed slightly, making Hope feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

But really, Josie felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated.


	10. Soda With Popcorn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's kind of Halloween themed.

Hope was standing at the counter scrolling through a flower website to add items to her cart to order when she got a notification for something happening in the park.

At first she started to close it, ready to ignore the pop up ad. But then she looked closer, it was a poster of an old horror movie. Underneath it there were words, it was an ad for a film festival night of old horror flicks in the park this Friday.

Hope was intrigued, it seemed like something Josie would like. So she decided to ask her.

She picked up her phone and called her, listening to one ring before she picked up, "Hey, Josie."

"Hi, what's up?"

"Well, I saw an ad for a movie night in the park, it's showing a bunch of old horror movies for Halloween, and I thought you might want to go?" She said it like a question, asking for her confirmation.

Josie nodded her head even though Hope couldn't see her, "That sounds like a lot of fun, can we go?"

Hope laughed, "I was asking if you wanted to go."

"Oh. Well then the answer is yes." Josie grinned.

"Okay then, it's this Friday, it starts at seven." She squinted and double checked the flier.

"Sounds good."

"Perfect, I'll pick you up?"

"Sure."

Hope smiled and wrote it down on a pad of paper next to her, making note of the date. She added a few things under it that she would need to bring, blankets and snacks.

After that Josie changed the subject and delved into a different topic. They talked for a little while longer before she had to go, the conversation flowing easily.

Josie hung up and Hope sat her phone back down where it had been half an hour ago. She went back to the task she had been working on, closing the pop up ad with a smile.

A few days later she was throwing on a hoodie and gathering up a few blankets to take. She found out that there would be popcorn there but she still threw some candy into her bag on top of the blankets.

Pulling her hoodie closer around her, she flicked the light out and set off to Josie's apartment.

It wasn't long before she was buzzing her apartment and Josie was pushing out of the door to greet her with a smile.

"Hi, girlfriend." Hope would never get tired of saying that.

Josie would never get tired of hearing it. She shook her head slightly and smiled towards the ground, "Hi."

Hope offered the other girl her hand and asked, "Shall we?"

Josie, who was also wearing a hoodie, forced one hand she had buried in her sleeve out to hold Hope's hand and giggled, "We shall."

They clasped their fingers together and started the short walk to the park, walking in silence, breathing in the fall air.

Hope walked in a straight path while Josie continued to zig zag, tugging on the arm she was connected to by interwoven fingers.

"Jo, what are you doing?" Hope laughed as she did it again.

She did it again, stepping directly on a leaf to be met with a satisfying crunch. "I like stepping on the leaves. I like the way it feels and the sound it makes."

Hope's heart swooped. It was so pure. She smiled and watched as Josie did it again, looking ahead for the next leaf.

When they approached the next one that was on her side of the sidewalk, she pivoted and crushed it under her shoe. Josie looked up at her and beamed, her eyes twinkling.

Hope shook her head with a grin and gingerly yanked Josie's hand to force her to come a step closer.

She stopped walking and pulled her close, putting her hands on her waist and her lips to the other girl's, closing her eyes and kissing her softly.

Josie wasn't expecting it, but she quickly melted into the kiss, moving one hand to the back of Hope's neck and the other to the small of her back.

Hope pulled her closer before pulling away, smiling and biting her lip, looking into her eyes. She interlaced their fingers and started walking again.

Josie followed suit and they walked the rest of the way to the park in silence. She didn't step on any more leaves for a while, too hazy from the kiss to consider the outside world.

They entered the park just as it was starting to get dark, the sun was beginning to dip behind the trees and create the sky to light up with a multitude of beautiful colors.

The two stopped walking and stared at the sky, sighing quietly in content. Hope looked away from the sky and at Josie instead, she looked down at their hands and swung them back and forth slightly.

She looked back up to Josie's face before returning her gaze to the sky for a moment again, then she tugged slightly on Josie's hand and motioned her head in the direction of the giant projector screen set up to their right.

Josie hummed in response and they started walking again, still hand in hand. They made their way over to a spot in the middle on the right and released hands to spread out their blanket.

Hope pulled out the blanket and started shaking it out over the ground, while Josie grabbed the corners and straightened it out.

They stood back up and Josie put her hands in her back pockets, shivering slightly and looking around. But Hope’s eyes didn’t leave her, “Are you cold?”

 

Josie hummed and looked at her before smiling and shifting her arms, “Kind of,” she giggled, “Yeah.”

 

“I packed another blanket or two for us. Do you want popcorn? I can go get it while you get the other blankets out,” Hope offered.

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

Hope smiled and handed her the bag with the extra blankets in it before turning walking over to the popcorn stand. She ordered a large popcorn and asked for two drinks, paying and attempting to balance everything to carry it back.

Before she picked everything up, she saw the flier for tonight in a small stack, and she quickly grabbed two and folded them, stuffing them in her back pocket.

Successfully carrying everything back, she returned to find Josie sitting down with a blanket already strewn across her legs. 

Josie smiled and offered to take the things out of her hands to set them on the ground so Hope could sit down as well. She obliged and handed the drinks to her while setting the popcorn on the blanket next to her.

She sat down next to Josie and Josie lifted up the blanket so Hope could get underneath it as well. She slipped her legs in next to her and scooted closer to her girlfriend, feeling a gust of wind run down her spine and send a shiver up her neck.

As the last sunlight started to disappear, the projector flicked on and the screen lit up. The opening credits began to roll and the first movie title crossed the screen, displaying, “Dracula.”

Hope remembered the flier and pulled one out, handing it to Josie, “ _Fright Night_. It has the movies listed on it and a little bit about each of them.”

Josie took the flier and some popcorn, reading silently before saying, “ _Dracula_ was based off of a novel by Bram Stoker, and it was first released on Valentine’s Day in 1931 to the United States, but it was released two days earlier in New York.”

“Really? Huh, cool.” She reached her hand out from underneath the blanket for a piece of popcorn and popped it in her mouth, sipping her drink as well.

The opening credits ended and the crowd fell into a collective hush. Josie shivered into Hope and pushed herself closer to her side. Hope threw her arm around her and pulled her even closer, settling in for the movie.

Some time later, the closing credits began to roll and Josie arched her back, stretching. Hope immediately felt the cold spot that had been warmed by her only a moment before. She tucked her hands into her hoodie sleeves and stood, grabbing the popcorn container to go get a refill.

Returning a few minutes later, Hope asks Josie, “So, what did you think?”

“I think it just further proves not to go into creepy places that everyone tells you not to,” she laughed as Hope looked at her questioningly, “But, I thought that it was a good movie, especially since it was based off of a book.”

“Have you read the book?” She put the popcorn where it was before and sat back down next to Josie.

“No, I don’t know why though, I love classics like these.”

Before Hope could say something else about it, Josie picked up the flier and read off the next movie, “ _Frankenstein_. It was released in November of the same year as Dracula. It was also based off of a book.”

She looked up from the paper, imparting her own knowledge, “A lot of people think that Frankenstein is the monster, but Frankenstein is actually the mad scientist.”

The screen flickered and the movie started. Before the opening credits played, a chilling message was delivered by one of the actors; it was a warning to anyone who was watching, saying that this was their chance to bow out now before there was no turning back.

Josie broke out into a grin and giggled at the drama of it all, laying her head on Hope’s shoulder when the message ended and the rest of the movie started.

A little over an hour later, the screen went dark and Josie raised her head up, yawning slightly and saying, “That was a really good movie. It was deep.”

“You think?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, Frankenstein treated what he created like a monster, so that’s why he became a monster, because that’s what he thought he was supposed to be. He was scared, and they tortured him.”

“He was really misunderstood.”

“Yeah. In the book he asked his creator why he didn’t love him. It was sad.” Josie looked around at the crowd, unfazed.

Hope wondered if there was more behind it than that, if she somehow related to it, but she didn’t push it. She knew that if she wanted to talk, she would. Hope, however, knew what it was like to be the outsider, so, in a way, she related too.

She hummed quietly and shifted, stretching and waiting for the third and final movie to start. She watched Josie look around at everyone, people all sprawled out on blankets, sitting with someone or watching alone. Josie liked to people watch, and Hope found it interesting.

“Does MG like these kinds of things?” Hope asked as the noise of the people around them seemed to subdue. She was leaning back on her elbows, holding her head up to look at her girlfriend.

She turned her head to look at her, “Yeah, I think so. I told him about tonight and he mentioned something about maybe bringing someone. I don’t know.”

“Oh, maybe he’s here. If he is, we should say hi. I would love to get to know him better, especially since he’s so important to you.”

Josie looked at her for a second, semi shocked, before taking her hand gently placing it under her chin, smiling softly and looking into her eyes, letting the gesture say the words for her.

The crowd interrupted them as they all fell silent as the screen started to light up again. Josie pulled her hand away and read off the last movie, “ _The Wolf Man_. It came out ten years after either of the other two.”

Hope nodded and sat back up, giving Josie a place to rest her head again. And that she did, she immediately moved closer and laid her head on her shoulder, almost as if it was that was where it belonged. Maybe it did.

The next hour passed far too quickly, and Hope was a little bit sad when the ending credits started to play, because, almost as if on cue, Josie raised her head and Hope was forced to pull her arm back from where it rested across her shoulders.

She shook her shoulders and yawned, stretching her legs and asking, “Are you ready?” She gestured towards the blanket she was about to pick up, the one that they had been under for the majority of the night, the one that was still keeping their legs warm.

Josie prepared herself and nodded, yawning in response to Hope’s yawn.

Hope thought Josie was adorable when she was tired. Well, she always thought she was adorable.

She yanked the blanket off of them and started to ball it up, shoving it into the bag and standing up. Josie followed suit, standing up and sinking into her hoodie, burying her head into her shoulders, trying to stay warm.

Josie thrust her hands out of her sleeves and picked up their trash, depositing it in the nearest trash can while Hope picked up the blanket that they had been sitting on and stuffed it into their bag as well.

The taller girl walked over and slipped her hand into the other girl’s hand, surveying the scene around them. People were dismantling their setups and packing up, ready to head home for the night. 

When they had first gotten here, it was slowly but surely filling up, even if not a lot of people ended up showing up, there was plenty of space between each person’s blanket, but now it was slowly but surely clearing out.

Hope fiddled with the bag as people trickled out around them, exiting the park and walking away in all different directions. Josie looked around again, seeing the lack of people but the excess of trash they left behind. She slipped her hand out of Hope’s and started picking some up.

Without a single word, Hope set down their bag and started helping, gathering a few pieces and walking them to the trash can that was merely a few steps away, not to mention the ones at the exit.

The two made their way around the park, picking up the random bits of trash strewn about, empty cups and popcorn containers. As they were doing this, they saw people come and take down the big screen and shut down the popcorn stand.

It was like seeing the maintenance people taking down a carnival, watching the magic die down around you, seeing how something that was so big to you be transformed into something so small and hauled away like it was nothing.

When they were finished, the found themselves standing alone in an empty park, free of trash, blankets, and people. Hope picked up their bag again and Josie returned her hand to Hope’s, swinging it back and forth slightly.

It was eerily quiet, the only sound being crickets and a slight breeze blowing through the leaves on the trees. Being the last ones left in the park, they took their time, watching the moon cast shadows on the vast space around them.

If you hadn’t been there that night, you wouldn’t have ever known it happened. They walked into a simple setup, they walked out of a dismantled memory.

They looked at each other and wordlessly made the simultaneous decision to leave, communicating with nothing but their expressions. The first step was taxing, both tired, forcing themselves to put distance between them and the park.

The two yawned as they exited the park, laughing at each other.

Hope broke the silence, “I had fun tonight.”

“I did too, thank you for taking me.” Josie stepped on a leaf, causing Hope to grin.

The two fell back into a calm silence as they walked to Josie’s apartment. They passed under a street lamp and went back into the dark of the night.

Hope grinned and took her opportunity. She grabbed Josie’s sides and hissed, “It’s alive.”

Josie jumped and giggled at the surprise and the reference, turning to her and pulling her lips to her own in one swift motion, cupping Hope’s face with her hands and kissing her with another giggle escaping her mouth.

Hope leaned into the kiss, and Josie leaned into Hope, pushing their bodies together as if they were one. The shorter girl let the darkness envelope them, standing in the space between two street lamps, putting one hand on the back of Josie’s neck and burying the other in her hair, kissing her back.

Josie giggled again and pulled back for a moment, leaning back in to kiss her once more before fully breaking away with one last breathless laugh and slipping her hand back into Hope’s hand.

Hope looked at their interlaced hands for a moment before looking at Josie and smiling, communicating without words.

They started walking back towards Josie's apartment in silence, it was barely eleven o'clock but the town was quiet, only the occasional car passing them.

Hope walked Josie to the door to her apartment building, bringing back memories of all the other times she had done this, and bringing hopes of all the times she would get to do this again.

With another look at their hands, playing with Hope's fingers for a moment, not wanting to let go, Josie slipped her hand out of the hand that fit so well with her own and turned away with a lingering look.

She opened the door and walked inside, leaving her eyes on Hope for as long as possible before she ducked inside and walked upstairs, disappearing and bringing the fright night to an all too soon ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated.


	11. Gerbera Daisies With Chocolate Chip Cookies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> This chapter is considerably longer than the others, so, sorry about that but, I hope you like it.
> 
> Thank you to the person who helped me so much with this chapter, from little ideas to finding my little mistakes, thank you :)

Nearly a month after the Saltzman Family Dinner, it was time for the Mikaelson Family Dinner.

Hope had been wanting Josie to meet her family for a while, but she hadn't said anything out of fear that she would scare her away.

But one day, they were laying together when Josie randomly spoke up and said, "I want to meet your family."

Hope, who was stroking her hair, sat up quickly, shocked, "R-really?"

Josie sat up too, "Well, yeah. I mean, if that's okay with you?" She metaphorically backed up, making sure she knew that it was okay if she said no.

She jumped at it, "Of course!" Regaining her composure, she sat back a little bit, "I've kind of been wanting you to for a while, but I didn't know if you would have," she trailed off.

Josie picked up where she left off, "Wanted to? Why wouldn't I?"

Hope chuckled, "Meeting the parents is kind of a big deal, you know?"

"You met mine," she provided.

"Yeah, and I was terrified. I just didn't want to push you if you weren't ready."

"You were nervous?" It was Josie who sat up straight this time. She had seemed so laid back and natural, handling the situation like a pro, helping her when she needed her most. Josie couldn't believe that she had been nervous.

"Well, yeah." She chuckled, remembering the feeling of thinking that they wouldn't approve of her.

"But, you were so calm."

"Only one of us could be nervous at a time. I had to make sure you were okay first." Hope smiled sheepishly.

Josie paused, Hope had hidden her own feelings to put her first because she knew just how important that night was for her. A small _oh_ escaped her lips.

Then, with the lips that the small _oh_ had escaped only a moment before, she leaned in and kissed Hope softly. She didn't know how to thank her.

But she tried her best. She pulled away and looked into her eyes, "Thank you."

"Anytime." Hope grinned.

Josie focused on the twinkle in her eyes, the little glimmer.

They stayed like that for a minute more before Hope said, "So, you really want to meet my family?"

Josie could hear it in her voice just how much she wanted this. It was something small in the tone, just a slight change in the way she delivered her words, it was hope. "Yeah, I do," she reiterated.

The grin that it put on Hope's face was worth it all, even if Josie had been the one to ask and even if she genuinely meant her words. She would have done anything to put that smile there.

"Okay, great. We're having our Thanksgiving dinner this Saturday. Do you want to come to that?"

"I would love to."

The sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face made Josie forget just how nervous she was for a second, because it was worth it.

This time it was Hope's turn to kiss her quickly and pull away to say, "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, babe." Josie grinned.

Hope fell back into her original position next to her with a laugh that turned into a contented sigh. 

They continued passing the time together that afternoon with what they been doing earlier after Josie settled back into Hope's side.

A week later, Josie was fidgeting in front of her mirror trying to look perfect for the dinner that started in a few hours. Hope was picking her up in a few minutes and she just could not seem to get all of the little details right.

First it was her top, then it was her hair, now it was everything. Josie groaned loudly and huffed, frustrated.

She stalked away from the mirror, no longer trusting it or her own judgement, and reminded herself to breathe.

She could get through this, she was just going to meet her girlfriend's family. It was no big deal, right?

Wrong. Josie was freaking out, and she could feel her nerves vibrating throughout her every move. It was a kind of unbridled energy, something she couldn't do anything about besides be affected by it.

Feeling like she was losing her mind, Josie took a step back from the situation, focusing on her breathing and regaining control of her own heartbeat.

After a few minutes, she felt a little wave of calm wash over her and she could breathe again. One more deep breath later and she was feeling better.

It was then that Hope buzzed her apartment. She wasn't coming up, she was just letting her know that she was there.

Josie grabbed her jacket and quickly ran through a mental checklist of everything she had to have ready. She was bringing chocolate chip cookies, a simple dish but one that everyone loves nonetheless.

Grabbing the cookie container and a book as a just-in-case measure, Josie locked her door behind her and padded down the stairs. Reaching the lobby, she threw open the door and met Hope with a smile.

She tried her best to mask her nervousness, just as Hope had done. Hope walked her to the passenger side of the car and opened her door for her, holding it while she got in and closing it behind her.

Josie thanked her with a smile when she climbed in the driver's side and put on her seatbelt.

Hope twisted the key and the engine revved to life. It was only then that Josie realized that she had never seen her drive.

She questioned her, saying, "Why haven't I ever seen you drive?"

"I usually walk to reduce my carbon footprint."

She cares about the environment. Oh god, she cares about the environment.

Hope noticed the look on her face and laughed, "Don't worry, I do know how to drive." She left out the part about how she would be even more careful because Josie was with her.

Josie grinned widely, her eyes crinkling.

"What?" Hope grinned back, glancing at her for a second before putting her eyes back on the road.

"Nothing," she muttered, smiling and shaking her head.

Hope furrowed her brow but let it go to take one hand off the wheel and setting it on the dash, silently grabbing Josie's hand and intertwining their fingers.

Josie's grin morphed into a content smile, letting her hand relax in Hope's, trying to push out all the nervous anxiety in her head.

Some time later, Hope pulled in to a space in front of a large home, turning off the car and saying, "We're here. You ready?"

She took a deep breath, "Yes, I'm ready."

Hope nodded her head and climbed out of the car, walking in front of the windshield to Josie's side and opening her door.

She helped her out and then turned to the back seat, pulling out Josie's cookies and handing them to her while she pulled out a second thing, a bouquet of orange flowers.

With their items in hand, they walked up to the door and stood side by side.

Hope turned to Josie after she rang the doorbell and looked into her eyes, taking her free hand into her own and saying, "They're going to love you. I'll be right by your side the entire time, okay?"

Josie took a shaky deep breath and nodded, forcing a small smile and trying to calm her nerves.

The shorter girl left her eyes trained on the taller girl's for a moment longer before turning and facing the door.

Josie took three more deep breaths before the door swung open to reveal Hope's entire family.

Hope rushed in to hug her father, who had opened the door, then she hugged each other one that had congregated nearby.

Timidly standing off to the side, feeling awkward, Josie felt herself stop breathing for a moment until she realized and took a few more deep ones.

When Hope had finished making her way around the family circle, she pulled back and stood beside Josie, remembering her presence.

"Everyone, this is Josie." The group smiled and she heard a few people say _hello_. "Josie, this is my dad, Klaus; my mom, Hayley; my uncle Elijah, her husband; my uncle Kol and his wife Davina; my aunt Rebekah and her husband Marcel; and my aunt Freya and her wife Keelin," she went around the circle, naming them in the order that they were standing.

Josie smiled and waved, forcing herself to speak, "Hi."

Freya moved forward to give her a hug, saying, "It's so good to meet you."

Hayley was next to wrap her arms around her, "Hope has told us so much about you."

Josie blushed and stuttered, causing Rebekah to smirk at Hope and say, "She's even more adorable than you said she was, love." Which only caused Josie to blush harder and begin fiddling with her sleeves.

Klaus took a step forward towards her, extending his hand and saying, "Hi, Josie. I'm Hope's father."

Josie took his outstretched hand and shook it, "It's nice to meet you, M-mr. Mikaleson." She stuttered, unsure of what she was supposed to call him.

He smiled softly at her and said, "Welcome, thank you for joining us today," pulling his hand away but extending his arm in the direction of the table, which was filled with food, "Shall we eat?"

Marcel spoke up, "That's a great idea." He smiled at Josie with warm eyes.

Kol backed him up, "Yes, Nik, let's eat." His hand was on Davina's shoulder, but he moved it to her hand as he led them to the table, both of them smiling at Josie as they turned away.

Hope looked at Josie and assessed her body language as the rest of the family moved to the table and took their seats. She grabbed her hand and asked her softly, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." She smiled and looked at her, "They all seem really nice, but I already knew that they would be from your stories."

Hope squeezed her hand with a twinkle in her eyes, "Let's eat, yeah?"

With an almost inaudible yeah from Josie, they walked to the table and sat down in the two seats left, Hope's normal one and the one that had been put next to her's for Josie.

They were sitting between Klaus and Freya, with Keelin next to her wife and Klaus at the head of the table, Hayley and Elijah next to him on the opposite side of the two. Davina, Kol, Marcel and Rebekah flanked them.

Hope sat the flowers down in the middle of the table and Josie found a spot for her cookies somewhere.

Seeing the flowers, Klaus smiled and said, "Excellent choice, littlest wolf. Gerbera Daisies, the best to make orange paint with."

She smiled and met his eyes, saying, "That's what you taught me."

Whenever he was around Hope, he seemed to soften. His demeanor was different and his facial expressions were lighter. Kinder, even.

Klaus carved the turkey and everyone started to eat, passing around dishes and filling plates to the brim with the amazing food everyone in the Mikaelson family had contributed to.

Easy conversation started to flow between the group, everyone asking Josie questions while simultaneously having conversations of their own.

Josie felt very at home, after the first few questions she settled into a groove and didn't even notice when her anxiety subsided.

They asked about her and her life, her job and her family, how Hope and her met, how they got together.

The two talked with each other, finishing the story for the other, adding in little details, and picking up where the other left off.

"So, if you hadn't been up all night filling an order and gone to get coffee in the morning, you two may have never met?" Hayley was leaning forward, wholeheartedly interested in her daughter's story.

Josie looked at her, "I think we still would have met. I came into her flower shop a few months later."

Hayley smiled, knowing that things that were meant to be were going to happen anyways, "Who asked who out first?"

Hope's cheeks heated up, thinking about how many times she hadn't asked Josie out, "Uh, Josie asked me out first."

Klaus started laughing, "Really?"

"Yes, dad, really. She asked me out first because I chickened out."

Josie turned to her, "You had been wanting to ask me out?"

"Well, yeah." A sheepish smile snuck its way onto her face.

Klaus and Hayley shared a look, both happy that their daughter had found someone who made her smile.

The dinner continued with food being passed around and plates being emptied.

Klaus looked over at Hope as the rest of the tables laughter died down, "Do you remember that time when I went to all of the bakeries and bought beignets for you to try?"

Hope grinned and the rest of the table focused on them, waiting for the punch line, "Of course I do, dad. How could I forget?"

Hayley leaned forward, "He said you couldn't be a connoisseur until you tried them all."

The family started to chuckle slightly as Josie focused on the next bit. Hope's eyes twinkled as she listened and added, "So, I did. I tried them all."

Klaus laughed heartily, "You were on such a sugar high that day."

Then Hayley finished the story off, "Eventually you crashed and passed out for hours after that."

The group started adding in little details about that day, moving from story to story, from family member to family member.

At the end, the easy conversation had turned into an easy silence. A few hours had passed, and it was getting late.

Hope looked around at the scene and took it all in. Her two worlds colliding, the most important people in her life all crowded around one table. It made her happy to see them all getting along, smiling and laughing.

Tonight had gone well, she thought. Josie opened up after being nervous, and none of her family had been cold to her as their way of being protective.

A few minutes later, they were all helping carry in dishes to the sink as Josie offered to help wash them, saying, "I only brought cookies, I can help clean up."

Hayley put her hand on her back, "Oh, don't even worry about it. We got this," she nodded towards Freya as she sat down one of the last plates, "Right?"

Freya nodded, but Josie pushed, "Are you sure I can't help at all?"

"You're helping by making my daughter happy, that's all that matters."

"She's making me happy too, Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Please call me Hayley," she smiled.

"Okay, Hayley," she tried it out, "but can I at least help with the dishes?"

Rebekah waltzed in, "Let the poor girl help with the dishes for gods sake you two." She stood next to the counter while everyone laughed.

"Fine, but only if you help too," Freya threw a towel at her sister and everyone laughed again.

Keelin huddled in too and the five girls started washing the dishes, continuing the conversations from earlier effortlessly and making quick work of the dirty dishes.

In the other room, Davina walked up to Hope, "Josie seems like a really nice girl."

Hope hugged her, "She is."

Kol walked up to them, "What are we talking about ladies?"

"How lucky Josie is to have found our wonderful neice." Davina said, causing Hope to smile and Kol to nod.

"Thanks, but I'm the lucky one."

Davina and Kol shared a look before parting ways with Hope as Elijah walked up, "Your friend, Josette, is very sweet. But, how are you?"

"Thank you, uncle Elijah. I'm good, I'm really good."

He pulled on his sleeve, "She makes you happy?"

She smiled, "Yes, she does."

Meeting her eyes, he said, "Good." 

It was always hard to gauge what he was feeling, he masked it with a suit that he wore like armor. But it seemed like he approved, and that made Hope smile even wider.

Back in the kitchen, Freya threw some soap suds at Keelin with a little laugh and a look that only her wife could decode.

Josie smiled at them, "How did you two meet?"

Another look passed between the two, "That is a complicated story," Keelin chuckled.

Rebekah dried a dish, "Far more complicated than we have time for now."

Freya nodded in agreement and watched as her wife sidled up beside their nieces' girlfriend, "Hey, do you want to hear a fun story about Hope?"

Josie forgot about the dish she was washing, "I would love to."

Keelin thought back, reminiscing and finding the right starting point, "Whenever she was little, she loved this game. We called it jumper jacks. Do you know what it is? When you throw the ball and try to pick up all the jacks?" She looked at her for confirmation.

Josie nodded, and she continued, "We would play it all the time, sitting in the floor with our knees crossed, the game in front of us." 

Keelin looked at an imaginary spot on the wall before finishing, "She always won."

"Did you let her win?"

"Hope? Never." She shook her head and chuckled, drying a dish, "Even at seven she could kick my ass at board games."

Josie thought back to her experience with Hope during their multiple game nights, "She is really good at board games."

Freya pushed in next to Josie, who turned her attention away from Keelin and onto her, "Another story?"

Josie nodded eagerly.

"At our wedding," she started, and only with that, Keelin already knew where she was going, which elicited a smile from her, "we let her drink champagne."

"Yeah?" She waited.

Freya looked at her wife and back at the girl beside her, "And she got tipsy."

Josie's eyes bulged in surprise, "Really?"

Through laughter, Keelin and Freya managed, "Yes, really."

They remembered her stumbling around, leaning on them all, and laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, for hours afterwards.

Josie joined in on the laughter as Elijah tilted his head to the side and looked toward the kitchen, honing in on the giggles that floated out, "You know, you should go check on them. Josie alone with those four girls? I'm not sure that's something you want."

Hope raised her eyebrows, just now realizing what was happening in the other room. She thanked Elijah with a nod of her head and spun on her heel to begin towards the kitchen.

She stopped in the doorway, leaning against the door frame to watch Josie's throw her head back in laughter as she handed a clean plate to Keelin.

Hope smiled and stayed a second longer to watch, ready to step in and interrupt another story. But she didn't want to stop what was happening, she liked seeing Josie laugh, even if it was at her expense.

She stood back and smiled as they finished the rest of the few remaining dishes, pushing herself off of the door frame and walking to stand beside her girlfriend.

"Telling lots of stories, I see."

The previous group all exchanged a look of knowing before bursting out into giggles again.

Hope didn't know what they were laughing about, but she thought that maybe she didn't want to know. She also figured that it wouldn't be long before Josie teased her for it, but she had ammo of her own from the Saltzman Family Dinner, so she wasn't too worried.

Hope shook her head and smiled, chuckling along just for the sake of it. She grabbed a towel and lightly threw it at Josie, saying, "It's getting late, babe, we should get going soon."

The towel hit her face and fell into her hands as she looked outside the window and saw that it was dark, "Oh, yeah, it is late."

Rebekah sighed, "Yeah, we should probably leave soon too." She turned and gave Hope a hug before turning to Josie and looking her dead in the eyes, "Don't hurt her."

And with that, she swept out of the room without so much as a look back. Josie was frozen, standing there holding the towel and trying to remind herself to breathe. It was three little words and, yet, the way she said them terrified her.

Not only that, but the minute before she had been laughing and telling stories about Hope's childhood. And, then, like a switch, she flipped from warm and welcoming to cold and defensive.

Freya put her hand on Josie's shoulder and said, "Ignore her. She's just trying to scare you because she loves Hope, and protecting her is just how she shows it."

Josie blinked a few times and exhaled, still shocked but understanding. It was only fair that she get the shovel talk at least once before she left. Rebekah was just not the one she had expected it from.

Keelin patted her on her back and grabbed her wife's hand, letting Hope take her spot and comfort her.

They gave the couple one more look before smiling and walking out into where everyone else was, still hand in hand.

Hope turned to her, the silence settling the air around them quicker than they thought it would. She took her hand in her own and drew little circles on her knuckles, "How you feeling?"

"Good. I've had a really good time tonight." She focused on Hope's hand on her own, letting it calm her down.

"Really?" Hope beamed, her nose crinkling, pulling Josie to her and kissing her quickly.

When she pulled away, Josie said, "Yes, really," with a smile.

With another unspoken statement passing between their eyes, the two girls copied Freya and Keelin, walking out to say goodbye to everyone else hand in hand.

Hope went around giving everyone a hug, telling them all that she had a really good time tonight, and whispering, "Thank you for playing nice," to the majority of the group.

Josie stood awkwardly off to the side, and Klaus took his chance to speak to her privately.

"So, you fancy my daughter?" His accent dripped from each word, looking directly into her eyes without blinking.

This was the talk that she had been waiting for. The talk that she had been dreading. She cleared her throat and managed, "Yes, sir."

He didn't say anything for a moment more, studying her closely and letting the silence talk for him. "Well, I think it goes without saying that you know what will happen if you hurt her." A smirk formed on his lips, which somehow made him more intimidating.

Josie could only stutter out another, "Y-yes, sir." She silently cursed herself for fumbling the ball.

Klaus hummed and nodded his head slightly, looking her up and down and shifting his weight from foot to foot.

He narrowed his eyes and said, "Good."

Josie gulped. But, before he could say anything else, Hope rushed her way over to the two, apologizing to Josie with her eyes for leaving the two of them alone together.

Hope smiled nervously, "So, what are we talking about, guys?"

Josie wasn't blinking again, and she was unable to answer the question.

Klaus clapped her on the back and said, "Nothing you need to worry about, love. Just some innocent small talk."

His daughter could tell from the general feeling in the air that those were not the words just exchanged, but she could fix it later. So she just smiled and nodded, obviously unconvinced.

A few of the other family members crowded around them, and, once again, Klaus took his chance.

During the commotion, he pulled Hope to the side, "So, this girl, you like her?"

"Yes, dad, I really do. And it doesn't matter if you don't approve of her, I know you haven't always in the past, that isn't why I brought her here tonight," she was rambling, nervous and defensive.

Klaus stopped her, tipping Hope's face up so her eyes would meet his, "She seems lovely. And she makes you happy, which is all that really matters."

Hope's defenses crumbled, and she hugged him tightly, her voice cracking when she said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, littlest wolf." He embraced her back, speaking softer with a slight edge to his voice, being protective as well, "However, if she does happen to hurt you, well, that's another story." He grinned maniacally.

She pulled back, "Hey!"

He laughed and tilted his head to the side, something unreadable dancing in his eyes.

Klaus hugged her again and pulled away, escorting her back to her girlfriend and into the throng of Mikaelsons.

Freya and Keelin were hugging Josie, thanking her for coming and saying how nice it was to meet her. Hope could always count on them to be open and welcoming.

A few of the others came up to Josie, smiling and being kind: Davina, Kol, Marcel, and even Rebekah.

Elijah was next, carrying an air of sophistication with him, outstretching his hand and saying, "It was nice to meet you, Josette."

To which Josie could only respond with a returned handshake and a confused but happy, small smile.

Hayley was one of the last ones, she walked up to her and kindly studied her face for a moment before throwing her arms around her and hugging her tightly, whispering, "Thank you for making my daughter happy," into her ear.

Josie relaxed into the hug and couldn't help but think _she makes me happy too_.

A few more hugs given by Hope later and they were sitting in the car. They weren't moving, and Hope was making no notion to turn on the car, nor to start driving.

They just sat there for another moment or two before Josie broke the silence, "I had a really good time tonight."

Hope looked at her, "Really?"

"Yes, really, miss drunk-at-a-family-function," Josie teased.

Hope groaned slightly and her cheeks bloomed as she made a mental note to talk to Freya and Keelin about that one later. She smirked and threw back, "Yeah, okay, miss wanted-to-pet-a-stingray-she-saw-in-the-ocean." She had some of Josie's own childhood stories to use against her.

Josie gasped playfully, "Hey! I was, like, nine!"

Hope laughed heartily, "And I was like fifteen, babe. Don't worry, I think it's adorable."

"In my defense, I didn't know. And they're really cute."

"Just like you."

It was Josie's turn for her cheeks to heat up as she stuttered out, "I- um," she swallowed hard, "Your family is very nice."

Hope smirked and started the car, responding to the obvious subject change, "They have their moments."

She looked behind her and backed out, starting the drive back home. Josie stared straight ahead, still somewhat flustered, for a moment more before reaching over and turning on the radio.

Hope handed her the aux cord, "Want to play anything?"

On the drive up, Josie had read her book. But now, she was tired and just wanted to sit and ride.

"You sure?"

"Of course. I trust you with the aux cord, play whatever you want."

Josie smiled and took the cord, plugging her phone in and opening Spotify, turning on one of her favorite songs, then queueing up one of Hope's.

Hope focused on the road, but she was listening along too. She smiled when her songs came on, and recognized all of Josie's.

They had each made each other a playlist of their favorite songs, and later compiled it into one long playlist. She was playing from that, putting it on shuffle but adding some songs that she knew Hope loved to the queue.

They rode in only the presence of the music the rest of the way, driving down the little road into their town late at night with the light from the street lamps passing them by and illuminating their faces.

They were both tired, that blissful kind of sleepy that makes the world a little bit softer, but they had a good time that night.

As the world was a little bit softer, it seemed quieter too. Like someone had turned the volume of the world down to an almost inaudible tone.

Hope parked the car and stretched, and she noticed that Josie wasn't moving to get out of the car, "We're here," she said, just in case she hasn't realized.

"I know."

Hope sat back, not really sure what was going on. "Okay, you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." She turned off the car and yawned slightly, giving Josie however much time she needed.

Josie turned to her, yawning slightly but still serious, "What's that line that was on the wall at your family's house? Always and Forever?"

The girl in the driver's side rotated to face her, reaching out her hand across the dash for another time tonight and intertwining their fingers, speaking softly, "Yeah, always and forever. It's what we say."

She looked at their hands, "What does it mean?"

Hope didn't know how best to explain it, "It means always and forever. It means that, no matter what happens or no matter what is happening, we still love each other, that we're always going to be there for one another. It means that our love is for always and forever."

Josie hummed softly, and it seemed like someone had turned the volume of the world completely off, and silence was the only thing that filled the air around them.

She wasn't entirely sure how best to use the saying, but she loved it. She thought that it was really sweet. She thought that it was more than just three little words, it meant more than just those letters. She thought that it was something bigger than all of them.

She also thought that she might want to be a part of Hope's always and forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated!


	12. Poinsettias With Festivities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know it's been a while but I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> I'm doing my best to continue writing throughout everything going on in life right now and I know the time in between chapters is long, so I apologize.
> 
> Thank you to the person whose influence is ever present in this chapter, you know who you are

Hope wrapped a coat around herself and grabbed some gloves, it was freezing outside but she was going to go meet Josie at the coffee shop.

She zipped her coat up and slipped her mitts on before taking a deep breath and opening the door to be hit with the winter air.

No wonder she hadn't had any customers today, why would anyone want to come buy flowers in this weather.

It had just begun to snow. They were large flakes, and Hope wouldn't be surprised if the ground was covered by the time she walked Josie home.

She shivered and started trudging to the coffee shop, finding herself there quicker than usual.

She fell into the warmth and sighed out of her coat, unzipping it and pulling off her gloves.

Walking up to the counter, Josie greeted her with a surprised smile, "What are you doing here, Hope?"

"Coming to see you."

Josie smiled and shook her head slightly, looking at the counter and brushing her hair behind her ear before turning and saying, "I'll make you some hot chocolate."

Hope watched Josie disappear in the back before coming out with a mug to fill. She made her way to a table by the window and watched it snow. It was really coming down out there.

A minute later, Josie set a steaming cup of hot cocoa down in front of her and sat down across from her, looking outside too.

Hope blew on her drink and wrapped her hands around it, drinking in the warmth from it.

"I love watching it snow."

"Me too," Hope agreed, but right now she was more concerned with watching Josie watch the snow.

"It's so peaceful."

"Yeah." She took a sip of the hot chocolate, "How do you make this?"

Josie looked at her, "Hot milk and powder, why?"

"It just tastes different than the kind I make, I use nutella instead of powder." She took another drink. It was good, just different.

"I've never had nutella hot chocolate."

"What?" Hope had grown up on it, and she couldn't believe Josie had never had it.

"Yeah, I've always had the powder kind."

"I'm making you some nutella hot chocolate later."

Josie smiled, "Okay."

Hope set her mug down, "I can walk you home. Your shift ends soon, right?"

So that is why Hope was here, which Josie thought was incredibly sweet.

"Yeah, it ends in a little bit less than half an hour. I just have to clean up then we can go. I don't think we'll be getting anymore customers anyway." She looked back outside, the ground already white.

"I'll wait."

Josie smiled and thanked her before standing and going back behind the counter to clean up.

Hope turned her attention back to the snow. She heard music turn on louder than usual so she looked up to see Josie smile sheepishly at her. It took her a second, but she recognized it as their shared playlist.

"It's only us here, and I usually blast music when I clean up. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course, babe. Play whatever you want. In fact, how can I help you clean up?"

The brunette girl didn't respond right away, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, what can I do?"

Josie turned and grabbed a broom, "Sweep the floor?"

Hope stood and took the broom, "Sure."

Smiling, Josie spun around and turned up the music, knowing they both loved this song, Two High by Moon Taxi.

They started singing along quietly, careful not to be heard over the music. But when the music picked up and the chorus hit, they couldn't help themselves.

They both started singing louder, occasionally looking at one another as they did their seperate jobs.

It took a few songs, but eventually they let themselves give into the music.

Cleaning up turned into a dance party and the snow falling softly outside made it so the rest of the world didn't exist.

The half hour was up far too quickly, and it ended with them forgoing the cleaning and just having fun together.

It was weird, how comfortable they were with each other. They were totally themselves.

They laughed hard and Josie finally turned off the music, acknowledging the fact that they had no more reasons to continue.

Their laughter dying down, they started to bundle up. It was probably colder now than it was when Hope left.

Josie came out of the back room in a coat and a beanie, a pair of gloves not yet on her hands. She put them on as Hope did the same.

Walking out and closing the store behind her, Josie watched her breath fog up the window.

She turned to Hope and breathed out again, seeing her breath against the snowy backdrop.

Hope did the same, as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and tried to get warm.

"I love the cold." Josie didn't even look like the cold was getting to her, not fazed by the wind whipping around them.

Hope relaxed and let her shoulders drop, taking her hands out of her pockets and bearing the cold.

They started walking but they didn't get far before Hope reached down suddenly and threw some snow at Josie.

Josie laughed out loud and dodged the next onslaught, bending down to throw some back.

Hope ran ahead of them and continued the battle, but Josie followed suit.

They ran all the way back to Hope's apartment throwing snowballs at each other before stopping in front of the flower shop to catch their breath.

Through laughter, Hope offered, "Want to come in and warm up?"

Even if she loved the cold, Josie really was freezing. "Yes, please, thank you."

The auburn haired girl let them in and led her upstairs, passing through the flower shop and seeing the display of poinsettias, the renown Christmas flower. 

Shrugging her coat off and placing it on the spot that used to be reserved for her leather jacket, she paused, "Do you still have my leather jacket?"

"You mean this leather jacket?" Josie took off her big coat to reveal Hope's leather jacket underneath. She smiled, "Yeah, I do."

Hope blinked for a second. She was not expecting that.

When she didn't respond, Josie's smile dimmed, "If you want it back, you can have it back."

"What? No, of course not. You can keep it as long as you want it, even if that's forever." She finally said what she had always thought, but never voiced, "Besides, it looks better on you."

"Now that seems impossible." 

Josie pulled off her coat and put it on the coat rack, only unzipping the leather jacket to reveal the shirt that Hope had seen earlier.

When she had finally shed her beanie, Hope managed to take her eyes off of her, making her way to the kitchen to say, "I do believe I promised you nutella hot chocolate, the superior hot chocolate."

"I can really only remember the promise, the latter half is still up for debate." She smirked and trailed behind her, looking around her place.

It was nice, it was kind of small but the way it was set up made it feel big. Josie wondered why Hope wasn't living in a place the size of her family's mansion. Maybe that just wasn't her style.

Hope was pulling two mugs out of the microwave when she sat down at the counter on a bar stool. She put both down to add the final ingredient, placing a spoon in both and stirring before then sliding one in front of Josie.

Josie eyed her cautiously, raising the mug and taking a sip. Much to her dismay, it was good. Maybe not as good as hers, but it was close. She smirked and admitted defeat, "Okay, okay."

Hope laughed, "See?"

She rolled her eyes, she was never going to live this one down. "Alright, yes. It's good. Happy?"

"Very." She smirked and walked out of the room, calling behind her, "Now that you've admitted defeat," she trailed off.

Josie turned in her chair to wait for her to finish as she came back into the room.

"Close your eyes," she said from around a corner.

She did as she was told, completely confused but intrigued. "What are you doing, Hope?"

"You'll see." There was a bump before Hope's voice started to get closer. 

The auburn haired girl spun Josie's chair back to the counter and slid her mug away, placing something down in front of her, "Merry Christmas."

Josie opened her eyes with her head aimed down towards the counter. It took her a second to fully comprehend what she was looking at, but when she did, she was awe-struck.

It was a painting. Of them. Of the night when they watched the meteor shower. Of the night of their first kiss. 

The sky was the main focus, but they were there too. It was a perfect reminder of that night, not that either of them would ever forget it.

"Hope-"

She watched her stare at it, moving her eyes around it, trying to take it all in. Her hands hovered over it, almost like she was afraid to touch it in fear of messing it up.

"This-"

Josie couldn't put it into words. This was beautiful, and she couldn't believe Hope had painted it for her.

Hope couldn't not say anything any longer, "I know it's not exactly Christmas yet, but you're here, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I hope you like it."

"I-I don't like it, Hope, I love it. It's amazing. You're so talented. I-" Josie was still looking at the painting, but she looked up at her, "Thank you."

Hope beamed, "I'm so glad you like it. Whenever I came over to your apartment for the first time, there was a bare spot on your wall. I thought that it would be the perfect place for a painting."

A small _oh_ escaped Josie's lips.

She backtracked, "I mean, of course, you don't have to put this painting up there-"

Josie stopped her, "This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me. It's so thoughtful. It's going to look great on my wall." She marveled at it again, "Thank you."

Hope smiled again before smirking and sliding Josie's mug back to her, "Anytime, but maybe we should focus on how you said my recipe was better?" Her smile turned into a devilish smirk.

Josie rolled her eyes, "That is so not what I said."

And with that, the pressure of the painting had passed, and banter begun again. The painting wasn't forgotten though, far from it.

This was proven a few hours later as the two were standing in Josie's apartment in front of the bare wall, talking about how to hang it.

Hope had braved the outside conditions, it had stopped snowing, to make sure Josie got back to her apartment safely. When they got to the door, she offered to help her with the painting.

Turns out, Josie had no idea what she was doing, so that was a good idea. 

They stood in front of the wall as Hope gestured out how to find the stud and put a nail in and hang it while Josie slowly nodded her head, still confused.

Somewhere deep in the closet, Josie found a hammer and some nails and relinquished the reigns to Hope, who took over and had it hung within a matter of minutes.

They stood back and looked. Hope had been right, it was perfect.

"Thank you."

She handed her the hammer with a smile, "Anytime."

Josie put back the tools and called with her head in the closet, "Hey, Hope? Do you want to help me put these up?" She pulled out a string of lights.

Despite the fact that she loved Christmas, her apartment wasn't decorated yet. She had been given a lot more hours at the coffee shop because it was the Christmas rush season, with all the festive drinks and cold weather conditions drawing in more customers.

"Yeah, sure, of course. Besides, if it's anything like how you hang a painting, you're going to need me," she smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She walked over to a wall and Hope followed, watching her as she reached up and strung some up around shelves. "The lights are one of my favorite parts."

"Mine too," she took an end and helped, "They're beautiful."

"Exactly."

They worked their way around the room, hanging them up on every wall. Josie had a lot of lights.

On the last wall, when Josie was reaching up to string the final strand, Hope grabbed her sides and started tickling her.

Josie squealed and dropped back down, giggling, turning it back around and chasing her around the apartment.

Eventually, Josie surrendered and called a truce, as Hope had backed her into a corner.

Hope laughed and continued getting closer, causing Josie to try to get away.

But Hope only scooped her up in her arms and twirled her around and pulled her into an unsuspecting kiss.

Their heart rates both started to calm down, forgetting the tickle fight and getting caught up in the kiss.

When they pulled away, their breathing was still slightly heavy, but the reason why was forgotten.

Looking into each other's eyes for a moment, Josie softly said, "Hey, do you want to make cookies with me?"

Hope laughed, there was no warning preceding that. "Sure, babe."

They went into the kitchen and started mixing up a batch of cookies. Josie wanted to make her chocolate chip ones, the ones she had taken to the Thanksgiving dinner before.

About a half an hour later, as Hope was pulling out a pan of freshly baked cookies, Josie was pulling down a blanket on the couch, inviting Hope to come join her.

The girl put a few on a plate and obliged, sitting next to her and curling up under the blanket.

They shared the cookies on the plate and talked about Christmas. Hope was going to go spend a few days with her family at their mansion. Josie's dad and sister were going to come and have dinner with her, they were working on their relationship and wanted to take it slow.

Then the conversation turned to New Year's. "Do you want to come watch the ball drop with me?" Josie asked.

"I would love to." She smiled.

Apollo ran up and ruined the moment, giving his owner puppy dog eyes, begging for whatever was on the now empty plate. Josie could barely resist them, talking to her in a baby voice, "Aw, buddy, you can't have any. They have chocolate in them and I don't want you to get sick."

Hope smiled and took the plate, letting Josie get up to give Apollo a treat of her own before coming back and cuddling back up with Hope. Apollo joined them and laid on the couch beside the two.

Josie rested her head on Hope's shoulder and absentmindedly put one hand on her dog, the other wrapping around her girlfriend.

Outside, the snow started again and the lights on the walls twinkled, providing a perfect contrast for a peaceful setting.

A few weeks later, as they drew closer to midnight, Josie and Hope naturally gravitated towards one another. 

They begun the night catching up on their Christmas', with Hope telling Josie how her family had said that she should have brought her with her but settling on simply sending their regards and Josie talking happily about how well her's had gone.

Josie had invited a few other people, throwing a small New Year's Eve party. She had apologized to Hope beforehand, saying that she would have rathered it just be her, but MG had started asking about it. Hope didn't mind, though.

Throughout the night it gave Hope a chance to meet more of Josie's friends and get to know them better, and Josie got to spend some time with all of them.

It was kind of like two worlds colliding, really. Josie's friends and her love life. She didn't know why she hadn't ever had Hope meet her friends yet.

But, as the clock ticked closer to the new year, Josie turned down the music playing in the background and flicked on the TV to the New Year's Time Square celebration for the ball drop.

Hope found her way to Josie and the two turned their attention to the television, as did the rest of the room.

The group counted down. "10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!"

They laughed and Josie turned to Hope, kissing her. It was tradition after all, kissing your significant other on the cusp of the new year, signifying that you wanted to enter into the new year with them.

Their arms were slung around each other's waists until Josie cupped Hope's face in her hands and Hope put her hands on Josie's waist to draw her closer.

They smiled into the kiss, giggling slightly, as the rest of the party didn't exist. At that point of the night they had gotten their wish, it was just them together.

Hope pulled back and turned slightly, standing so her arm was around Josie's back and their sides were touching.

She looked over as they swayed back and forth and only thought, "I hope I get to spend my year with you."

It was funny, really, because Josie was thinking the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos, as always, they are much appreciated.


	13. Cold Tea With Past Arrangements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoy this chapter, but I would like to apologize in advance...
> 
> Thank you to the person who reads these first, giving me feedback and finding all my little typos
> 
> But, without, further adieu...

Josie floated into the flower shop as the bell jingled above her and signaled her arrival, but she did the same as she called out, “Hope!” 

Hope heard her and stuck her head out from the back room, smiling at the smile that was coming towards her counter. “Hey! Just a sec and then we can go.”

“Take your time, babe. I can entertain myself.” She laughed and started circling the shop, gingerly running her fingers over the flowers as she went. She was wearing a small crossbody purse over a shirt and dark jeans.

It was almost as though she was light, floating on air around the shop. Her way of moving was whimsical, and she was happy. Hope and her were just going to go out to grab something for dinner, but she was excited. She was in a good mood for no reason, and it seemed like nothing could bring her down.

Hope came out from the back and smiled at her before saying, “I’ll go get ready and be down in a minute,” and then headed upstairs.

Josie finished floating around the shop before finding herself standing in front of the counter while drumming her fingers on the glass. She circled the counter and stood behind it.

She looked around the shop before her eyes came to rest on the book in front of her, the book where Hope recorded and kept track of all the orders she had received. It was open to a half filled page, a few orders from today.

She read through it before turning the page back and reading through those, finding it interesting. Hope was so organized, the meticulousness showing through the written down dates and details, even going so far as to record any notes sent with the flower order in her perfect handwriting.

Josie was happily flipping through the pages, going back in time with orders while she waited for Hope to come back down. As she heard her start to pad down the steps, Josie slipped back another page and read one order that stopped her dead in her tracks.

An order that was marked down as around the same time when her ex, Penelope, had been in town. An order that Josie had never seen. And, apparently, an order that had a note with it. A note that had never been spoken of. A note that said:

_I'm sorry for how things ended, please forgive me. Maybe one day we can try again. Love, P._

Josie wasn’t sure but it seemed like her breath hitched. She felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

She had thought that nothing could bring her down. She had been wrong.

Her happiness was replaced with a certain sense of numbness, not wanting to feel anything. Not wanting to feel pain, hurt, past and current heartbreak, or betrayal. Maybe it was something she couldn’t control, just shutting down on instinct to protect herself.

It wasn't even the Penelope of it all. It was how unexpected it was, how abrupt. 

She had been on a cloud, and now she was falling back down to earth faster with every second. It wouldn't be long until she hit the ground. And that wasn't going to be a fun experience.

Emotions are a fickle thing. The thing about being so happy and so sad, is that they're actually really close together. When you're really happy, all it takes is one small thing for you to come crashing back down from the high. That's what was happening now.

Feelings, on the other hand, are not as scientific. It's the little things that set them off. Feelings, in contrast to emotions, are not that easy to flip from one another. It's not just a simple switch. Sometimes they're messy. But, in comparison to emotions, all it takes is one small thing for you to feel them again, even if they were gone the second before. That's what was happening now.

Time slowed from when her eyes had landed on this page, on this order, to when Hope was standing on the landing, curiously looking at her.

“Josie?”

Her voice was far away, muddled.

“Earth to Josie?” She laughed.

It got closer, clearer. 

Josie looked at her and the second Hope saw her eyes she knew something was up. “Babe? Are you okay?”

“There was a note.”

“What?” She was confused, her own good mood not yet wavering.

“With the flowers.”

Hope’s brain tried to work through the little information given to her. Josie didn’t provide anymore, though.

Mentally, she flipped back through the book herself, and the pieces slowly but surely slid into place.

That note. Those flowers. Uh oh.

Hope reached to close the book, reached to touch Josie and explain, but Josie pulled away both the book and herself, ripping away any chance for an explanation first.

"There was a note," she repeated.

Her hand was still outstretched, "Y-yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She pulled her hand back, "I- it didn't seem important."

Numbness turned to anger.

"Didn't seem important?"

She had never believed that Hope could do something to make her angry. Guess she was wrong about that.

Josie thrived on honesty, transparency, truly believing that communication was key.

She loved just talking to Hope. They could talk about anything, and they talked about everything.

So why hadn't she told her about this?

Anger turned to sadness.

"I told you I loved her, Hope. How could you?"

"I was afraid." Her voice was small.

"Afraid of what?" She questioned.

"Afraid of losing you."

For a second, it was a different kind of sadness. Her underlying anger dissipated.

Josie's resolve started to crumble before she began to build back up the walls that Hope had tirelessly tried to break down.

Hope could see the walls go back up in her eyes.

A certain spark gone. A light extinguished.

But only to her.

"You should have had more faith in me."

Hope grasped at straws as her heart pounded and she felt Josie slip away. "I know, I'm sorry. I was just scared."

"You were scared to lose me. But maybe, just maybe, you just did." She surprised even herself with these words. Steadying herself, she added in a quieter, almost softer, voice, "I'm gonna go."

Josie didn't add a time to see her again.

Maybe that's because she didn't know if she would ever want to. Maybe it's because she never planned on it.

Hope nodded in defeat, knowing there was nothing she could do or say to fix things right now. Maybe ever.

And that was what hurt the most.

Josie turned without looking into her eyes again and took slow, calculated steps, even though she couldn't get out of this situation fast enough.

A small voice peaked out from behind her, "Josie-" 

The voice cracked but Josie didn't stop.

Hope watched her go. It hurt watching her walk away like this. She wanted to run to her, to make things better, to kiss her and convey what she was feeling, to hug her and take away the past pain that was coming back, to hold her, to talk to her, to turn back time. 

But she couldn't. It wasn't her place. Not after what she had done. And turning back time, now that was something that was impossible.

Even without time travel, past mistakes will always be there. Even if she was able to fix things, it still happened. She couldn't change that.

The one thing Hope had been trying not to do, the last thing she wanted, she had just succeeded at.

Hope had panicked. She had meant to tell Josie, eventually. But then the time was never right. The only right time would have been when she first told her about the flowers.

This was Josie's past, and she had a right to know. But the more time that passed, the less she thought about it. Whenever she was with Josie, Josie was all she thought about.

Even when she wasn't with her, she was still thinking of her.

And, right now, they weren't good thoughts. They were panicked thoughts about losing her. They were thoughts that were too loud. Thoughts that she needed to get out of her head. But she couldn't.

Josie slipped out the door with a different way of movement than when she entered. Anyone from the outside who had seen both Josie's would know that something was wrong. 

This wasn't Josie. Not smiling, happy Josie. This was numb Josie, unfeeling because she didn't want to.

She walked back to her apartment in a haze, not entirely there, her mind elsewhere. It was like she was trapped in jello, the rest of the world a little garbled.

She moved mechanically, all the way up the stairs, inserting the key into the lock with an air of precision.

Josie shut the door behind her and pressed her back against the door, taking some deep breaths and trying to come back to the moment, training her eyes on the floor. She took off her crossbody purse and abandoned it in the floor.

Her apartment was dark, quiet. It was somehow soothing, it was silence when her brain wasn't. Yet it also just amplified everything as well.

When the silence became too loud, she exhaled heavily and raised her head up, pushing herself off the door.

The first thing she saw was the painting.

The anger came back.

She crossed the room in a way that was quicker than she thought she was capable of. She plucked the painting off the wall and threw it across the room, where it landed on the floor in front of the door that she had just grounded herself on.

When the object left her hands, she realized what she had done. She went to go pick it up, walking again in that slow way, already feeling the tears build behind her eyes.

She reached the painting and collapsed to her knees, the tears starting to fall. Josie didn't try to blink them away, she needed to cry. Maybe then she could feel better about everything.

Josie picked up the painting, the one she had been so afraid to touch for fear of messing it up, the one she had just thrown across the room. It was perfectly okay. 

Even though the painting had survived unscathed, she started to cry harder and she sunk further to the floor.

She set it back down on the ground as Apollo came to her side. Apollo was shoving her head into Josie's hand, trying to make her feel better because she could tell that her owner wasn't okay.

Josie half-heartedly petted her and smiled sadly at the effort made by her dog. Apollo hadn't seen her like this in a while.

Hope had always made things better. Whenever something was up, she could always make her feel better. 

Why did Josie find herself wanting to call her? Because she was hurting, and Hope always helped. But she didn't think that was going to be the case this time, because, in a way, some farfetched way, Hope had caused the hurt.

Maybe Josie was just looking for someone to blame for the hurt that she had never dealt with when it came to Penelope, but Hope hadn't told her something she should have. So the blame was still, mostly, rightfully placed.

Besides, it didn't really matter what hurt she was feeling right now. All that matters is that she was hurt. She could sort out which hurt it was and who caused it later.

She picked herself up off the ground and numbly walked to the couch, Apollo trailing closely behind. She climbed onto the couch and pulled a blanket over her, resting her head on a pillow.

She laid down and Apollo jumped up next to her, snuggling in. Josie rested her hand over her dog as a few more lone tears escaped down her already tear stained face.

The exhaustion from crying was starting to set in and her eyes began to flutter closed. A few moments later and she was sound asleep, Apollo keeping her company.

Hope, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. Her brain was a mess of thoughts and it was far too loud in the silence to sleep.

After about an hour or two of tossing and turning, she got up and forgoed even the possibility of entertaining the idea of sleep for the night.

She walked around her house for a minute and made herself something to drink, thinking steaming hot tea might help. Eventually she found herself standing in front of a blank canvas.

Painting was an escape. And she needed to escape. It was like she was drawn to the easel, unconsciously.

She picked up a brush and dabbed it in some paint, letting herself go to the hypnotical rhythm.

Her drink grew cold and, before she knew it, the sun was rising. Only that could make her start to blink away the haze.

Hope hadn't even known really what she was painting. It was a mess of colors and thoughts and feelings. It might not even make a picture.

She sighed and put down her brush, rubbing her eyes. She yawned and thought about the last time she had stayed up all night painting. The painting for Josie. And, just like that, the thoughts from the night before returned.

Hope groaned and wished they would stop. Yawning again, she longed for a latte with two shots of espresso, which was completely unlike her. Maybe she didn't long for the coffee, but for the barista who knew her original order by heart.

She wanted to go to her, talk to her, apologize. It hadn't even been a day yet, though. And she didn't even know if Josie was working today. Hope knew her general schedule, and she knew she worked in a couple days.

She could talk to her then. On Monday. The day that started it all.

Until then, her body begged for sleep, but her flower shop wasn't going to open itself. Technically she didn't have to open, but it gave her something to do.

Making flower arrangements had a similar effect on her that painting did, but not as intense and all encompassing. It could get her out of her own mind again.

So she dragged herself to her room and got dressed, splashing water on her face. Then she went downstairs and pasted a smile on her face, greeting the new day.

Hope flipped the sign open and unlocked the door, retreating behind the counter acting like it was a barrier to the world.

In her fortress of solitude, she was met with the book. The book of orders. Her godforsaken meticulousness.

She barked out a chuckle which was followed by biting back tears. She nodded numbly and blocked them both out.

Taking a deep breath, she flipped it to a new page just as the phone rang and she was presented with her first distraction for the work day.

She wrote down the order and hated every stroke of the pen, knowing that it was that same thing that was the root cause of this.

But, then again, it wasn't. It was her fault. She needed to own that. She needed to apologize.

She needed Josie.

Hope picked up her phone when she had finished with the order and pulled up Josie's number. 

She dialed. It rang. And rang. And rang.  
She didn't pick up.

Hope didn't leave a voicemail. She didn't want Josie to hear the tears in her voice.

The ringing phone woke Josie up, and for a second, before she saw who was calling, she forgot about the night before.

But the second she saw the name, it all came crashing back like a tidal wave. She watched the phone ring. 

She picked the phone up. She put the phone down. She went through this cycle a couple of times, fighting with the two sides of her debating whether to pick it up or not.

Josie picked the side that was yelling to pick it up, to make things right, a second too late. The call ended.

She waited for a voicemail to pick up. Hearing Hope's voice would help. The notification never came.

Josie didn't call back.

She threw her phone into the corner of the couch before sighing and pulling it out, checking the time.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. Apollo was still nestled in her arms, giving her owner a reason to smile.

Josie ruffled Apollo's fur and got up to feed her, pouring some food into the bowl and giving her a treat, thanking her for keeping her company last night.

She stretched and blinked at the onslaught of light through the windows. She didn't have to work today, and she didn't have class either, so she had a free day.

Normally she would go spend it with Hope, but that wasn't going to happen today. She decided she was going to have a me day, it was needed after last night anyway.

Josie realized she was still in her clothes from last night, she had fallen asleep in them on the couch. She went to her bedroom and glanced at the untouched bed from the night before. 

Then she moved to her dresser and put on comfortable clothes, some sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, because she didn't plan on leaving her apartment today.

Josie went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, staring into it for a few minutes before turning away and looking around her apartment, choosing to clean.

Cleaning always calmed her. It gave her something to do and it occupied her thoughts with the methodical working.

She found her phone and started to play some music before realizing she had picked her and Hope's shared playlist out of habit. 

That stopped her. Forcing those thoughts out of her head, she turned off the music and started cleaning. While music usually was a contributing factor in getting out of her own head, all the songs reminded her of Hope. 

All the songs made sense, so they just made her think about the one thing she couldn't bear to think about right now.

After thoroughly cleaning her entire apartment, Josie settled onto the couch with a book. Another one of her ways to get out of her head was to enter into another world. Reading had that effect on her.

She opened the book and cracked the spine and sighed back into the couch, delving into a different dimension.

Hope was doing her own form of cleaning, organizing the back room of her flower shop. 

Technically she had plans that night, Saturday family dinner, but she was going to forgo them.

While she knew it was better to be around people, she had a tendency to shut people out when something happened. And she was pretty sure this constituted as something happening.

Hope knew that her family would ask questions about Josie, and she couldn't answer them tonight. She knew they would see right through her fake smile.

She would call them in a little while and make up some excuse about why she had to miss. Or maybe she would text. That seemed like an even cleaner break.

Being alone was dangerous right now, though. Too much time with her thoughts. She needed to get out of her head.

She knew she should go see her family, they would help. But she couldn't bring herself to endure them for an evening, dodging questions that would just catapult her back into the same thoughts she was trying to escape from.

Hope opted for a run instead of the third degree.

She went when the sun was just starting to dip behind the trees after she closed up for the evening. She would run from the chill in the air and the words running through her head.

Running had always been Hope's escape. Something about the way her feet pounded on the ground and her heartbeat quickened and her breath shortened and the music blared in her ear drums. It was easier to focus on those things than her problems.

She ran throughout the town, crossing from sidewalks to sidewalks without even really knowing where she was going. She just knew she had to run away from the things chasing her.

Somehow, unconsciously, she ended up outside Josie's apartment. This sight stopped her dead in her tracks. She thought about just how easy it would be to go up and buzz her apartment.

After entertaining that thought for a second, Hope turned and ran faster than she had all evening in the opposite direction, quite literally running away from her problems.

If only she could run away from herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *static cracking* we interrupt your regularly scheduled Soft programming for this short but heartbreaking Angst announcement. Don't worry though, folks, we'll be back before you know it, so stay tuned!
> 
> also drop a comment and yell your thoughts and feelings about this interesting development for me to read and take into account
> 
> I have prewritten the next few chapters, so the wait in between won't be as long


	14. Unfinished Coffee With Broken Routines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who promised she would update more regularly because she had prewrriten the next few chapters but then didn't? It's me, ya girl *finger guns*
> 
> But, for realsies this time, updates will be every two weeks on Wednesdays for the next few chapters
> 
> So, that being said, here's the first Wednesday chapter, hope you enjoy.
> 
> Thank you to the person that took the time to go through every paragraph and compliment the little things in these chapters.

By the time Monday rolled around, Hope was desperate to talk to Josie. She had texted her a couple times, but had gotten no response. She knew she deserved it though.

She was ready to get to the coffee shop at the same time she did every Monday morning. Even when they were dating, she never missed her Monday morning appointment.

Given, it had just been an excuse to get to talk to her in the beginning, but that's still what it was. But it was also a routine. Just like Josie buying flowers every Friday.

Hope walked down the sidewalk and realized how nervous she was. She had a sense of urgency, like she couldn't take another second of things being like this.

When things were bad with Josie, it affected everything. It hadn't really ever happened before, but Hope could see it now.

Her mood was bad. She couldn't focus. She didn't care about anything. Her thoughts ran rampant.

A little part of her hated how much affect Josie had on her. She wasn't used to that. But the rest of her could see why she did.

Hope found herself in front of the door. Why wasn't she opening it and going in and fixing things? She looked down and took a deep breath before doing the first and then second part of that plan.

The third part became a little difficult when Josie took one look at her and disappeared into the back. 

She abandoned the coffee she was in the middle of making as MG followed her gaze to understand why before taking her spot and finishing it.

Hope started to call after her, and maybe even follow her. It would be just them, they would be alone so they could talk.

Talking was their thing. They just needed to talk it out and everything would be okay again.

MG stepped up and stopped her before she could even try to slip behind the counter, "Hope, I'm sorry but she doesn't want to talk right now."

Josie had called him the night before to come over. He showed up on her doorstep with a pint of her favorite ice cream and a pile of movies to watch.

He listened to her talk about everything, her thoughts and feelings, and listened to her explain the situation over ice cream.

When she was all talked out, he hugged her and popped in a movie to watch, helping get her mind off of it.

MG had done the same thing when it came to Penelope. But that was how he knew this was different.

The way she had explained each situation, one with anger and one with sadness. She had talked about Penelope in the past tense. She had talked about Hope in the present tense. She had berated Penelope. She had defended Hope.

MG knew the difference between the two, but he didn't think she did. Josie was the type of person who wanted something to last, she wasn't just in it until she didn't want to be anymore. Josie wasn't the one who left people. She was the one who got left.

Each one had hurt her though, and he could clearly see the effect it had on her. But the hurt part was the gray area. 

The hurt she was feeling was unclear to him as to which one it was. Was it past hurt, or present? He knew she was confused on that too, all she knew was that she was hurt.

It wasn't his job to decode and therapist her right now, though. His job right now was to just be there for her and listen, to give her a friend when she needed one.

He had given her his advice, to go talk to her. If she was worth it, then she would listen to everything Josie had to say and then try to fix things. He knew they could fix things if they tried.

But Josie had shaken her head as another tear fell, saying, "I want to talk to her, but I can't."

He asked why.

She said it hurt too much.

All Josie wanted to do was talk to Hope, but she couldn't. It wasn't that she thought she wouldn't listen, she knew she would, she was just scared.

Maybe it was a little bit like how Hope had been scared, but this was a different kind of fear. She was scared of the outcome.

And a part of her was still angry, so she knew talking to her before she was ready wouldn't go well. She needed a little while to get her thoughts in order.

MG knew his best friend, he knew how she was. She just needed some time, even if she didn't want to take it.

So he stopped Hope before she could encroach upon this time. If she did, it wouldn't end the way they wanted.

"Why?" Hope's voice was small.

"Because she just needs some time."

"How long is she going to need?" Hope wanted, needed, to talk to her.

"I'm sorry, but you should go. Look, I know her. I know how she gets. She's not mad at you."

"Then what is she mad at?"

"The past."

Which past? Their past? Her past? 

"I just want to talk to her. MG, please." Hope pleaded.

He looked uncomfortable, like he didn't want to be in between them but he also didn't want them to be on bad terms. He was in a lose-lose situation.

"Look," he started, "I want you guys to work things out, I really do. But I don't think today is the day. She really does just need some time."

Hope looked defeated before he added, "If it makes you feel better, I told her to talk to you when she told me what was going on."

"So you know what's going on?" She saw a chance, a little sliver of hope, and she pounced on it.

"Yeah, I know." He didn't look like he was upset with her. His eyes weren't cagey or protective.

"How do I fix it? Please, MG, help me fix it." She was desperate.

"Hope- I- I can't do that. I can't be in the middle of this."

"Please," her eyes said it all.

He looked away from her eyes, because he knew that if he looked into them anymore he would crumble. "She'll come around. I know she will." 

Hope couldn't tell if he was saying this more to convince her or himself. She knew that if it was the latter half then things were really bad.

She nodded her head to the ground and tried to smile at him. It didn't work. "Thanks, MG."

"Hope, I'm sorry." He really hated being in the middle of things. Josie was his best friend, and he would do anything to protect her, but Hope was his friend too.

"It's okay." But nothing was okay.

"She'll come around. I've seen the way she looks at you. You haven't lost her yet."

Yet.

Hope nodded slowly and smiled sadly, and left the coffee shop with one more pleading look to the back before slipping out the door in defeat.

The word _yet_ rang through her brain the entire walk home. _Yet_ meaning there was hope. _Yet_ meaning she was on the brink of losing her.

_Yet_ being a word that was both good and bad. _Yet_ both making Hope's heart swell and filling her with dread. _Yet_ being a word that she was coming to resent.

She had to choose the better meaning behind the word. Ignore how it meant she was close. Focus on the fact that it meant she wasn't that far.

Hope would not lose Josie. If she lost her, she lost a part of herself. She had given a piece of herself to Josie, and she did not want to lose the holder of that piece. She didn't care what it meant to lose herself, she would willingly do that for Josie, but she couldn't bear the thought of losing her, because the piece of Josie that Josie had given her was her favorite piece of herself.

She had to find a way to get her back.

But if she pushed too hard, she might just push her out the door.

This was a very fine line, and Hope was bordering on it. She didn't dare cross it for fear of what might be waiting for her on the other side.

She needed to play her cards right. Josie needed time, so that is what she would give her, no matter how much it hurt.

It was only a few days until Friday, and it was their routine. Josie would never break their routine, right?

So all she had to do was wait.

She knew that if they could just talk, then everything could be fixed. By Friday she would know what she was going to say.

Until then, though, the days were long and the nights were longer, unforgiving thoughts plaguing her mind.

Oddly enough, this went for both of them. However, Josie suppressed them while Hope fought them off.

Neither of them ever realized just how much time they spent together. When they were together, time flew by. Hours and minutes and seconds all blended together. Time didn't exist when it came to their time together.

Now they were spending all those hours, minutes and seconds alone, and time had never drug on so slowly before.

They each had way too much time on their hands, and neither of them knew how to spend it, so they returned to their roots instead of branching out.

Josie read and entered different worlds, walking through the lives of characters to get out of her own.

Hope painted, never really sure what she was making in the piece she had started at the beginning of it all, but she just kept working on it. Somewhere, in the depths of her mind, she knew what it was.

Josie played with Apollo and took her on ever more walks than usual, sticking close to her furred companion.

Hope ran, going farther and faster than she ever had before, pushing herself past her own limits as she desperately tried to forget about everything for a while.

Josie picked up extra shifts at the coffee shop, a few extra hours added on to each one as a way to keep busy.

Hope worked on flower arrangements and redid them all countless times when she didn't get any new orders to do.

Josie spent time with her friends, being around them made her happy and it got her mind off things for a while. She hadn't realized just how much she hadn't seen them in a while. All of her free time had been occupied by Hope. None of her friends dared to ask about her, though, as MG issued a friendly warning to them all.

Hope pulled away from her family, dodging calls and making excuses, knowing that there would be questions and talk about Josie that she couldn't bring herself to answer.

When Friday rolled around, Hope couldn't take it much longer. As far as she ran, her problems always seemed to catch up with her.

She waited at the counter, leaning down on it and watching the clock, counting down the minutes to when Josie was supposed to arrive.

Josie was a routine apt person. She wouldn't break this. She would be here, same day, same time. It was just a part of who she was, and Hope knew it.

That's why, as the minutes ticked past her usual arrival time, Hope didn't get discouraged. A small nagging feeling got louder, though.

Half an hour later and the feeling was demanding to be listened to.

An hour later and Hope knew she wasn't coming. She had missed their meeting time. She had broken their routine.

It was the first Friday in months that Josie hadn't come in to buy flowers.

She stared at the clock in defeat as darkness started to seep in through the windows. It wasn't a great sign, if she was being honest.

Maybe the blackness surrounding her was a metaphor, but she only walked to the door and flipped the sign when she couldn't see without a light anymore.

Like the dying light outside, the one inside her was also beginning to diminish. The hope behind the _yet_ seemed a lot more like it was founded on shaky ground.

It didn't help that Josie didn't come buy flowers the next week either.

Hope couldn't stand the thought of her not coming back for another one. She couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her for another week.

She feels even worse because it probably means that she hasn't been going to visit her mother's grave anymore either. That was something sacred, something Josie had been doing for herself.

And Hope had ruined that too.

She probably can't blame Josie for not coming on Fridays, she hadn't gone on Monday either. But, then again, she didn't feel like it was her place. Not after everything that had happened.

She wanted to give Josie space. Rather, she needed to give Josie space. But how much space is too much space? 

She was either giving her too much or not enough and Hope could not find the perfect middle. 

The line she walked was fine and she was terrified that she was doing it wrong.

If she gave Josie too much space, then it would seem like she didn't care. She knew Josie liked it when you made an effort and showed her that you cared.

But if she didn't give Josie enough space, then she would be smothering their flame before she could build it back up again.

Hope hated this.

Her head was screaming at her. It felt like a weight was pressing down on her chest, getting heavier every day.

She would run, but that stopped helping as much as it did after a while. She would paint, but the recesses of her mind knew what she was painting, and it didn't help.

So she was stuck in this state. This god awful, regretful, pained state.

But she knew she deserved it.

She didn't even really reserve the right to be hurt by everything. After all, it was her fault. She hurt Josie.

She deserved to be hurt because of it.

If there was one person in the world who didn't deserve to be hurt, it was Josie, pure Josie.

The ray of sunshine.

The beam of optimism.

The bright smile.

The sunny disposition.

The friendly voice.

The infectious giggling laughter.

Hope had never deserved her in the first place.

Josie deserved the best, and Hope could never give that to her. She just wanted her to be happy. And if that couldn't happen with her, then okay. At least she was happy. Hope being happy didn't matter when it came to Josie being happy.

Maybe Josie was starting to realize that she deserved better. It had only been a matter of time. It still hurt.

If she was being selfless, Hope would let her go to be happy. But the selfish part of her wanted her back. Another part of her needed her back.

Hope had to decide which was worse, too much space or not enough. If she chose too much, then she was going to pick up the phone and hang onto every ring of the phone until she either picked up or didn't. If she chose not enough, then she was going to have to let Josie come to her. But who knew if she ever would?

Not to mention the fact that it was going to hurt to act like she didn't care. That wasn't going to win Josie back.

So she picked up the phone.

She went to Josie's number and called it, waiting. It started to dial and then ring. And ring. And ring.

She didn't pick up again. But this time, Hope left a voicemail through shaky breaths, running a hand over her forehead.

Hope had never been so happy to hear Josie's voice telling her to leave a message at the beep. Her heart twisted at the smile in her voice. She missed that smile.

When the beep sounded through the phone, she tried to speak without a shaky voice, "Hi, um, hi, Josie. It's Hope. Which you knew. But, um, I was just calling because, well, I wanted to talk to you. Can we just talk, please? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, for not telling you, for everything. But can we just talk? Please, Josie-" the beep cut her off again.

She sighed into the phone before dropping her hand to her side, shaking her head and looking out of the tops of her eyes.

Josie watched it ring. She wanted to pick it up, she really did. But she couldn't. Not with what she was about to do.

Her heart squeezed in her chest as a notification popped up for a voicemail. A part of her wanted to delete it without listening to it, that would make what was going to happen next easier.

But the other part of her won. The part that wanted to run back into Hope's arms. The part that hated the side of her that had won in the debate for what she was going to do next.

As soon as she clicked on the voicemail, her heart swelled and her eyes started to fill with unshed tears.

She had missed Hope's voice so much. Even now, when it was strained and pleading, it made her feel better.

When she got cut off and it ended, a wage of anger and sadness started to overtake her. Anger because it was over. Sadness because she missed her so much.

She slowly lowered the phone and tried to breathe. If she stopped breathing then she would start crying. And she didn't want her voice to sound thick for the next call she was going to make.

A few minutes, a couple dried tears, and some sniffles later, Josie was picking her phone back up again.

She almost clicked on the voicemail to listen again. Instead, she fought off the urge and went to her contacts, scrolling to one that had lied dormant for a long amount of time.

Josie dialed to hear the voice that wouldn't make her feel better, not like Hope's. She dialed the person she had vowed not to think about. She dialed the person that only flooded her mind with memories in the late hours of the night.

She called Penelope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are we feeling? Bad? Good? Angry? Sad? All of the above? Well if any, or none, of these apply to you then you should go yell at me about it. Tell me about it in the comments!
> 
> Thank you for all your comments on the last chapter, I really enjoy hearing your thoughts on the chapters
> 
>  
> 
> Also, side note: did anyone catch that Castle reference in the last chapter? If you did, you should let me know, because it's a huge foreshadowing/hint at what's gonna happen


	15. Paper Flowers With Stories Of The World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gasp* did I really just adhere to my "new chapter every other Wednesday" promise? I think I did, you should be proud
> 
> Enjoy :)

The phone rang enough times to make Josie think, or maybe hope, that she wasn't going to pick up. 

Then she did.

The voice that rang through the phone brought back a wave of memories that she could drown in. She hadn't wanted to remember. She still didn't.

"Hi JoJo."

The nickname. God, the nickname. Penelope had given it to her before they even started dating. Josie used to hate it. Then she loved it. Now she hated the way it made her heart twist in pain. She didn't get to call her that. Not after what she did.

"Hi, Pen."

Josie used the nickname that she had given her too. She was pretty sure Penelope hated it. At least, that was what she claimed. If Josie was being honest, she was using it out of habit and in an attempt to get to her. But if she didn't hate it, then, well, it wasn't getting to her in the way she wanted.

"Why are you calling? It's not that I'm not glad to hear your voice, don't get me wrong, I am. But I thought you made it clear how you felt about me a long time ago. I do believe your words were something along the lines of 'I hate you,' if I remember correctly." Josie heard a smirk in her voice, but there was an underlying chill too.

The words _I hate you_ had always easily rolled off of Josie's tongue when it came to Penelope. It was easier to hate her.

A small chuckle that could barely be described as a chuckle was followed by, "I finally read your note."

"Oh."

A short silence came before Josie quietly, almost inaudibly, said, "Yeah."

Penelope was a little confused, "How? I never got the chance to give them to you."

"Hope told me. Kind of." She left out the majority of the situation, holding her cards close to her chest. She didn't need to know. Not yet.

"Hope? Flower shop girl? Walk-in-the-park-girl?"

Turns out she hadn't been such a walk in the park. But, then again, relationships weren't supposed to be easy.

"That's the one." Things with her were a little more complicated than a walk in the park right now.

Penelope hummed in response. "So, what's up with her?"

"You really want to know?" Josie asked in disbelief.

"Not really," she laughed.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." 

"So why are you calling, if not to gloat your new perfect girl in front of me." 

If she would have been, it just would have been revenge. Give her a taste of her own medicine. Maybe she should. But no, that's not where she wanted this to go.

"Did you really mean what you said?"

"What do you mean?"

"In the note," Josie softly clarified.

Penelope's voice got lighter, almost like it had been a long time ago, when things were good, "Of course I did, JoJo."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Her small smile could be heard through the phone.

Josie didn't know where to go from here. She didn't know where she wanted to go. But she knew she needed to go somewhere if she was ever going to set things right again.

She held her tongue and sighed before biting the long building bullet and asking, "Can we maybe meet up? And talk?"

Penelope sounded genuinely surprised, "Yeah, yeah, of course," she jumped at the opportunity, "Just tell me when and where." Maybe the new girl wasn't as perfect as Penelope had thought she was.

A few days later and they were meeting up at the coffee shop after Josie's shift.

Penelope lived a town or two over but she happily made the drive for Josie. It wasn't the first time, and hopefully, if things went the way she wanted them to, it wouldn't be the last.

When she had seen that Josie was calling her, she hadn't thought it was real. Sure, she had imagined it, even going so far as to fantasize it, but she had never thought it would actually happen.

So when Josie had even gone so far as to ask to meet and talk, Penelope was sure it was too good to be true.

But now, as she was opening the door to the coffee shop to be hit with a light chatter, it was real.

On the drive over, seeing Josie again was all that she could think about. And when it happened, when she stepped foot into the room and saw her back turned to her before seeing her turn with her hair bouncing lightly in tune with her smile, she knew it had to be a dream.

Josie in and of herself was a dream.

At first, Josie didn't see her. Penelope didn't mind though, because she got to see her like she had seen her the first time she had met her, admiring from afar.

Josie didn't think she was anything special, she didn't see how amazing she really was, but other people did. 

Penelope was one of those people. The first time she had laid eyes on her she could see it. The quiet fierceness, the subdued beauty, the outspoken kindness. 

Penelope could never understand how she let her go. So when she called, it was like a wish granted. She knew she could never make it up to her, but she was going to try.

Josie finally noticed her. She could tell because her smile dimmed. It wasn't unlike the first time she had seen her, either.

Maybe this was a chance to start over. Maybe this was like meeting for the first time again.

But they could never start over, not with all the knowledge of the past. It didn't matter if both of them wanted to forget it, some things can't be forgotten or ignored.

Josie finished with the current customer and Penelope approached, uneasy. The last time she made this walk, she was confident, she was ready to win her girl back. This time she was not the usual Penelope, the tough exterior dropped because she knew Josie had always seen right through it.

She smiled unsurely, "Hi."

She got the same look back, "Hi."

There was so much she wanted to say, but she didn't know what to start with. All the words jumbled in her head wanted to come out at the same time.

Josie saved her when she came out from behind her and led her to a table by the windows, "We can sit here, I'll go grab us some drinks. Same order?"

"Yep," she smiled genuinely now. She still knew her order. Of course she did, it was Josie. The anxiety started to wear off a little bit, maybe all hope wasn't lost yet.

Josie walked back behind the counter and MG intercepted her, protectively glancing at Penelope, "What is she doing here?" It didn't sound rude, it sounded like he was in confused disbelief.

When Penelope had been a constant in Josie's life, the two had gotten to know one another. They were friends, but he was loyal to Josie first. So when they split, that had been the end to their friendship as well, but only because of the way things had ended.

He didn't know why, but it had been different with Hope. Even though things weren't great right now, he didn't feel the tension between him and Hope like he did between him and Penelope after everything. She was different.

Which is why he was so confused, and protective.

"I asked her to come," she stated simply as she made their drinks.

That didn't help clear things up for him. "Why?"

"I wanted to talk to her." Josie was oddly calm about this whole thing, and that just threw him off even more.

If he knew her, and he did, he would say that she was covering how she was really feeling.

"But-"

She turned to him and her calm demeanor started to crack as she began to take her true feelings out on him. "I know what I'm doing, MG." Her voice was cold, icy, distant.

He looked at her, and then at Penelope, and finally brought his eyes back to rest on the raging ones staring back at him. MG looked at her with a caring expression and softly said, "Just be careful, Jo. I don't want you to get hurt again."

Josie looked at him and she wavered once more, cycling through a sea of emotions at once.

MG watched his best friend turn and build back up some walls with a deep breath before walking headlong into the battle she had lost all that time ago.

Penelope watched her come back and sit their drinks down. She thanked her as she took the seat opposite to her.

"Hi." That wasn't exactly the speech she had been organizing for the past few days, but it was a start.

Josie chuckled at her awkwardness, "Hi."

"How are you?" She asked, wanting the honest answer.

Josie didn't give her what she wanted. "I'm good."

"I'm glad."

She smiled as the awkwardness upped its ante. "How have you been?"

"I've been good too, thanks for asking."

Josie hummed in response and sipped her drink.

Penelope broke the cycle, "Why are we being so awkward, JoJo? We were never even this awkward before we started dating," she laughed.

Josie laughed back, this was true. She took a deep breath and stretched her shoulders, it was easy to fall back into a routine with her.

"I don't know, I'm sorry," she said to the table with a smile.

"It's okay. What did you want to talk about?"

"What do you mean?" Josie looked up at her.

"You called and asked to talk," she reminded her, "What did you want to talk about?"

Now that she thought about it, Josie didn't really know. "Um, I just wanted to catch up."

"Forgive me if I sound like I don't want to catch up, because I do, but you know I know you better than that, JoJo. So, what's up?" She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her chin on her hands, and looking at her.

She felt trapped under Penelope's gaze. She was right, though, she knew her better than that. But she also wasn't about to tell her the truth. So she lied. She told her what she wanted to hear.

"I missed you that day you came into town. I wanted to make it up to you."

"I was in town months ago, why the change of heart now?"

"Why do people do anything, Pen?"

The nickname seemed to sink her to the point where Josie wanted her. "I suppose," she laughed, "You can tell me the truth later."

Then she winked. And Josie hated it.

She laughed lightly and asked, leaning forward, wanting to know, "So what happened to you, Pen? Last I heard you wanted to get out of this town."

"I did," she chuckled, "I came back."

"Why?"

"Guess escaping was a little harder than I thought it was going to be. Not to mention the one very good reason I have to always come back, to come home." She flicked her eyes up to Josie's, "You."

Josie chose to put a pin in that discussion for the time being, "This town could never hold you."

"Yeah, I know," she smirked with a spot of something unreadable in her eyes before lightly gasping, remembering, "Oh! That reminds me, here," she pulled out something from her bag and handed it to Josie.

Josie looked at the small red piece of folded paper in her hands before looking back to her in a way that signaled Penelope to delve into the backstory, "Somehow I found myself in this little corner shop in Japan, where paper cranes dangled from the ceiling like they were flying and the lights were lanterns hanging between them. Oh, JoJo, you would have loved it there." 

This fact was confirmed by the look on Josie's face.

She continued, getting to the explanation, "I spent an entire day there. The owner taught me origami, the art of paper folding that originated in Japan. I know you love flowers and little things like this, so this is for you." She smiled hopefully. It was an origami flower.

"You went to Japan?" She asked, more amazed by the story than the paper flower gift.

"I did, yeah," she thought back, "I went to a lot of places, actually, Japan was just one of the places on the list."

A little part of Josie was jealous. Penelope got out. She left this town and saw the world. It was everything she ever wanted.

"Tell me about them," she requested, enchanted and dying to know more. It was almost like she was going to live vicariously through her.

Penelope smiled, happy to see her interested and excited, something she had missed. "Of course, JoJo."

She looked at her with a certain twinkle in her eye, a certain softness that she could only possess for Josie.

She would tell her every detail of her trips if it would make Josie happy to hear and if it meant that she got to keep talking to her.

So that is what she did.

Penelope moved from story to story, place to place, time to time, painting vivid pictures for Josie's mind to see, so much so that she could almost picture it like it had been her in these foreign, magical lands.

Josie could listen to her talk about this for hours. She might even go so far as to say that she wanted to.

Meanwhile, Hope paced back and forth.

Then she stopped at her counter.

Then she started pacing again.

Then she stopped and put her hands on her hips, staring at the ceiling.

This couldn't go on any longer.

Hope could not physically handle being on bad terms with Josie anymore. It had been weeks. She had to fix things

She had to at least try. Given, she had tried. But she had to try harder.

One more shot and then she would leave it. Hope wasn't the type to give up, but she was the type to respect boundaries.

She had given Josie time, but she couldn't take anymore time. If she tried once more and she still wasn't receptive, then she would finally let her go.

Hope had to try just once more, though.

It wasn't in her DNA to stop, except when it came to the wishes of others. Especially when it came to Josie.

She had willingly gone as slow as Josie wanted, because she still got the pleasure of being with her.

The memory of their first date came into her head. The memory of the first time they held hands came into her head. The memory of their first kiss came into her head. She couldn't stop them.

She couldn't stop the feelings they brought with them. Josie was worth fighting for, she would fight until the very end for her. 

But the time in which the very end came was up to Josie. And maybe she had chosen now to be the time.

But the thought that maybe she hadn't was what compelled her to promise herself to try one last time.

So she threw open the door to her flower shop and walked in a frenzied haze to the coffee shop. 

It was almost on autopilot, the way she took her steps on the sidewalk. She didn't even have to watch where she was going, she had taken this walk so many times to go see her that she knew all the cracks in the sidewalk.

A little part of her loved this walk, but only because of what she knew would be waiting for her at the end. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The treasure at the end of the journey.

So that little part of her was oblivious to the possibility of what could be at the end of this walk. The end could be there. And she wasn't ready for that. She didn't want to accept that.

Before she could even entertain these two sides of her, she was in front of the coffee shop.

She blanched as her mind ran through the past few seconds. Had she just seen Josie?

As Hope tried to backtrack her brain, she took two steps back. Then she saw her. And she looked beautiful. She had missed seeing her so much more than she had even realized until this second.

She loved the smile on her face, the laugh in her voice. Even through the window she could see it. And it lifted her mood so much more than she wanted to admit.

Just as she was about to go in, she wanted to hear that laugh and that voice, she saw what was the cause of that smile and that laugh.

She stopped dead in her tracks. The world froze. The bottom dropped out below her.

Penelope.

On the outside of the glass, they were smiling and laughing and talking and everything looked perfect. If Hope hadn't known better, if she had been a random passerby, she never would have known that they had any problems. It almost looked like they were meeting for the first time.

On the inside of the glass, Penelope was delving deep into her tales of travels. Josie was listening intently but she was more focused on the story and the mesmerization of the destination than the teller.

But Hope didn't know what was happening on the inside of the glass. She was on the outside looking in, quite literally. And she didn't like what she saw.

She loved the smile on Josie's face, but she hated that she wasn't the one to put it there.

It took her only one delayed second to recognize where they were sitting. They were sitting at Hope and Josie's table.

She guessed that that spoke for itself. The girl she was with screamed it too. Maybe Josie had picked this as their end.

Hope stopped breathing for a second.

She stopped feeling.

And then she started feeling again.

But she really wished that she hadn't.

Her heart ached. Her breath hitched.

How could she lose her?

The second Hope learned their backstory, she had a gut feeling that Penelope would be a threat. That stupid gut feeling was the reason why they were in this mess to begin with, it was the reason why Hope hadn't told Josie about the note.

And now Josie was back in her arms. And it was all Hope's fault.

No matter how fast or how far she ran, she couldn't run from this hurt.

Hope turned on her heel and ran back to the coffee shop with a feeling inside her that could be described as nothing less than panicked urgency.

She was in jeans and a t-shirt, not exactly running clothes, but that was the last thing on her mind. She didn't care about the odd looks she received from the people she sprinted around on the sidewalk either.

All she cared about was Josie.

And the fact that she had lost her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am prepared to be yelled at, so, by all means, if I hath hurt thee, yell at me
> 
> But in all seriousness, drop a comment and let me know your thoughts and feelings for this chapter
> 
> Fear not, my loyal readers! All hope is not yet lost (pun intended). *announcer voice* stay tuned for what will unfold next


	16. Orchids With Oddly Poetic Endings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back, back again, with another chapter every other Wednesday :)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter
> 
> Thank you to the person who reads these chapters first, and who has consistently felt attacked throughout this past few chapters, thank you for being the first to read them

When Hope got inside her flower shop, she realized just how oddly poetic it was.

When Penelope had come to town to fix things, Josie never saw her.

When Hope came to the coffee shop to fix things, Josie never saw her.

Ignorance is bliss, apparently.

She laughed dryly to herself and accepted the last thing she wanted to accept. She had lost Josie.

Her eyes caught on something. It was a flower petal on the floor. She snaked her viewpoint up until she saw where it came from. A dead flower. 

Like the straw that broke the camel back, it was the last little thing to push her over the edge because she couldn't help but think about the symbolism behind it.

It was then that the gravity of the situation finally hit and her resolve crumbled so fast that even she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. She put a hand to her mouth as a sob escaped underneath it. She put her other hand to her stomach as another sob gripped her body, refusing to let her go.

Hope forced her back up from the door to drag herself upstairs, falling against the wall and sinking to the floor as her shirt became wet from tears. She put her head in her hands, pushing the base of her thumbs into her eyes to stop crying. Once she started, though, she couldn’t stop.

It was like everything that had been building for the past couple weeks came out at once, the full force of everything hitting her at once like a ton of bricks. She wasn’t the type to cry, either.

She was the type to bottle until the bottle burst and everything exploded in front of her eyes at the same time. Looks like the bubble she had been living in finally popped. 

It left her wanting to shut off her humanity and forgo feeling anything. It left her body racked with sobs as she desperately tried to breathe deep enough that they would stop. It left her to fall into bed early and sleep with a mood that begged for her not to be alone anymore.

Josie got back to her apartment late that night. She and Penelope had talked for hours. Or rather, she had talked and Josie had listened. Normally, after something like this, she would be happy.

So why did it feel like something was wrong?

A few blocks away, Hope was all alone.

In her apartment, Josie was all alone.

She didn’t want to admit how much she didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to admit how much she wanted Hope back. She didn’t want to admit it to herself.

Josie sighed into the dark of her apartment and walked quietly to the closet. She opened it and her eyes fell onto something placed delicately on a hanger on the edge.

She had been living out of her dresser for a while, so she hadn’t been in her closet except for when she grabbed a jacket out of it at the last minute as she rushed out the door earlier today.

As she took off this jacket to put it back, something stopped her.

Somehow her eyes found the leather jacket, bringing back the memories of how it came to be in her possession in the first place, and all the memories that surrounded that. When she fell down the rabbit hole in regards to memories, it was hard to fight her way back out of it.

No matter how many times Hope would say that it looked better on her, she knew that that was wrong. 

The first time Josie had ever seen Hope, she was wearing this jacket. She doubted Hope even remembered that she had been wearing it the first time they met. But Josie would never forget it. The way her eyes and smile were tired, but they were kind too. The way her outfit looked rumpled, like she had been up all night. The way she ran her hand through her hair and pulled on her leather jacket as she ordered.

Hope had always thought that her feelings were unrequited in the beginning, but she was wrong. The second Josie had laid her eyes on her, she had felt something for the girl. Truth be told, Josie was the one that had been afraid that her feelings were unrequited.

She had desperately wanted to ask her out, and MG had been encouraging her to do it since she couldn’t stop talking about the Monday morning routine, but she had just never gotten the courage to do it.

That day in her flower shop was like an out of body experience. Hope had the home court advantage, and somehow she had still managed to ask her out. And she had somehow said yes.

Josie had been so nervous, not that she would ever tell Hope that. But her heart had been beating out of her chest, and she was amazed that her voice hadn’t shook.

When she had walked out of the shop that day, she was on cloud nine. She had raced home with a huge grin on her face. The nervousness about the upcoming date hadn’t set in yet.

She had been wearing her leather jacket that day too. It was just her default look, and Josie loved it.

And now the infamous jacket was in her closet. The sight of it caused her to hesitate. It caused her to stop and stare at it, lost in thought. It caused her to gingerly pull it out and slip her arms into it.

When she did, she realized why something felt wrong. Slipping her arms into the jacket caused a whole new wave of missing Hope to wash over her.

Josie fell back into the leather jacket and let it hug her. It was the closest thing she had to Hope.

She wished she could have the real thing.

Maybe she could. She sat up straighter on her bed, the gears in her mind starting to turn. She wanted Hope back.

Penelope was the type to up and buy a plane ticket in a spur of the moment decision. Josie had used to want to be that person, to be with that person. But that's not what she wanted anymore.

Penelope was passionate and spirited and fearless and reckless and dangerous. But she wasn't forever.

She was the bad girl who gave her a taste of the thrill that she dated as a way to rebel against the unknown forces that be.

Looking back, it made sense.

Looking forward, it did not.

As much as Josie would always hold some of those memories with her in fondness, she didn't want them back.

She wanted a stable relationship. She wanted someone who wanted her too. She wanted someone who would stay.

She wanted Hope.

She had to tell Penelope. Josie had no idea why she had ever called her in the first place.

Her world had been spinning, and she was just grasping for familiarity, but in the process she reverted to the past.

She didn't know why she had called her a few nights ago, but she knew why she was picking up the phone and dialing her number now.

Josie wanted these past few weeks to disappear into the space time continuum like they had never happened.

She hated the way things were right now. All she wanted was Hope. But the hope that that could ever happen again was dwindling by the second.

The phone rang once before she picked up.

"Just couldn't get enough of me, could you?" Josie could hear her patented smirk through the phone, Penelope falling back into the cocky, flirty front.

It made her skin crawl. Just thinking about how she had spent the past few hours with her made her realize just how much she had rather that it had been Hope.

She was calling to break the news.

"Hey, Pen. I had fun catching up, and I'm sorry, but I can't see you again." She had loved the stories of far away lands, but the girl down the street was more important than those fantasy adventures.

Her cocky, flirty front dropped, "Oh, but why?" Her voice cracked.

"You know why. We both know why. Hope."

"Walk-in-the-park-girl." Her voice was a sad form of bitter.

"That's the one," Josie said with a smile on her face.

Anger boiled behind Penelope's iris'. But it was anger towards herself. She had gotten her hopes up.

She had learned long ago never to have expectations, because then they led to disappointments. Penelope had let herself believe that Josie would pick her.

But Josie was never going to pick her. Walk-in-the-park-girl was perfect compared to her.

Penelope could make her all the paper flowers in the world, she could tell her as many tales of the world as she could muster, but it would never compare.

She nodded slightly into the phone, her eyes barely open, slowly accepting that she would never be enough for her. She didn't deserve her. And it was time to move on.

Frankly, she didn't hold any right to be feeling this way. After all, she had been the one to hurt Josie in the first place.

When it came to Josie, once you hurt her, things could never go back to the way they had been before. Not unless you proved yourself to her and were very special to her.

Something told Penelope that things with Hope would go back to the way they had been before.

They said their final goodbyes, it felt like this would be their last time speaking for a while, maybe forever.

Maybe one day they could be friends, but Penelope would always have a soft spot for her, and only being friends with her hurt. 

When they hung up the phone, Penelope sighed before opening up a tab on her laptop to start looking for the next place to visit. Maybe it was time she showed this town that it really couldn't hold her. Especially now since she didn't have a reason to keep coming back.

Josie felt oddly relieved, like a weight was lifted off of her chest. Some would call it closure. Others would call it a guilty conscience.

Either way, she felt better about things. That was before she remembered how things with Hope were currently.

Penelope had given her a few thrills, allowing the daredevil side of her to experiment. But somewhere along the way she had become her familiar. The one she went to when she needed an escape.

She guessed that was why she called her.

But she wasn't that person for her anymore. Her familiar was Hope.

The one who brought her flowers and played buffer for her and her family and who helped during an afternoon rush.

She felt like home to her.

Penelope felt like stepping off of a cliff to feel the air whip your hair around as you fell.

But Hope was the one who caught her at the bottom.

Had she messed this up?

She couldn't lose Hope. Literally or figuratively.

What had she been thinking?

That note had caught her off guard, sure, but Hope had been scared of losing her. Penelope had never been scared of losing her, in fact, she had willingly lost her.

Josie felt a wave of panic seize her chest so much so that she had to stop and remind herself to breathe before she could think again.

When she did start thinking again, anxiety crept in the corners of her mind, ready to jump out and take hold of her in a single heartbeat.

Josie took a deep breath, albeit shaky, and began to devise a plan.

She would make this up to her.

It was Thursday, which meant that tomorrow was Friday, which is when she used to always buy flowers from her. It was time to revisit the routine that had been the backbone of the beginning of their relationship.

The routine that had started their relationship could save it.

On Friday, Hope woke with a start. She jerked her head up as she inhaled deeply and tried to place her surroundings.

Falling back into her pillow, she sniffled and turned her face from the window that was letting the sun stream in.

Eventually, she forced herself up despite the exhaustion that plagued her body. 

She got dressed and yawned as she made her way downstairs and opened her shop, recounting the events of the day before with a sad mentality.

Hope went through the day in a bit of haze. When it was almost time to close up, she ran upstairs for a second to grab something. She was planning to go out for dinner as soon as she closed. It was good to get out.

She walked past her painting room when she was on her way up. Then she backtracked and stepped inside.

She went up to the painting that she had been working on off and on over the past few weeks. She had never bothered to take it off her easel, because she always kept coming back to it.

Hope tilted her head and looked at it.

The painting was a frenzy of color. 

Bright red and dark blue clashed but also somehow simultaneously managed to complement each other.

Yellow took to the edges, adorning the sides in almost a sunlight like glow.

Layers upon layers of color shaped something in the center.

Hope had no idea what it was, but she was drawn to it. Since she didn't know what she had been painting, she didn't know whether it was done or not.

She sighed and turned, leaving the room, knowing she should get back downstairs for a little while longer.

Something inside of her made her turn back.

From the doorway, all the colors came together to form a single picture, and suddenly she knew exactly what she had been painting.

Truthfully, she had known all along, but it had been buried deep inside her thoughts. She had been painting the thing that had been dominating her thoughts.

The chaotic colors combined to show a calm, smiling face amidst it all.

The painting was of Josie.

Hope tried her best not to let the shock get to her. The shock of seeing her face again unexpectedly. The shock of realizing that she had been subconsciously painting her in a way that even she couldn't see.

It was possibly the best painting she had ever done.

After staring at it from afar for some amount of time, she didn't know how long, she happened to look at the clock.

Friday at 5:30.

The bell on her door jingled and her heart skipped a beat.

She tried not to think anything of it, it couldn't be her. Even if it was their usual time.

No, it was just because she was in her head because of the painting, nothing more.

She was not going to let her brain take this sliver of a freak occurrence and run away with it so much so that her heart would hammer in her chest with every stair step down. She was not going to get her hopes up. She had learned not to let that happen ever again.

Hope went downstairs with a small sigh to help the customer.

She was met with the subject of her painting, live and in person. Even more beautiful than any painting could ever show, let alone her own.

"Hi." Josie folded her arms and clasped her hands, standing in the middle of the shop, seemingly making herself smaller.

"J-Josie, w-what are you doing here?" She needed to remind herself to breathe. She stopped and her field of vision zoned in on Josie and only Josie.

"I-I want to buy flowers." That was really not her intentions, but it was a start.

"Oh." She was disappointed even though she didn't want to be. She didn't want to care. She didn't want to feel anything for the girl anymore because it was clear she didn't feel anything for her.

Of course she wasn't there for her.

"Yeah."

"Which kind?" It was her job after all, so she would sell her the flowers. She had to be professional.

"Orchids." Josie hoped that she got the message she was trying to say, trying to scream. She hoped that she remembered.

That was the first flower Josie had ever bought from her. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

But no, that's all it was. She just wanted flowers, nothing more. She didn't want her. That's not why she was here.

Hope just had to keep repeating those words to herself until she believed them enough to not be hurt.

The thing is, though, neither of them made a move. They didn't move a muscle to go get the flowers.

Maybe that wasn't why she was here after all. Or maybe Hope just couldn't force herself to move any further away from Josie. All she wanted to do was go closer.

All she had to do was take the first step.

But it wasn't her place to do that anymore. No matter how badly she wanted her, she had shown her where she stood. And it wasn't with her.

And yet, still, neither of them were moving. Whether it be closer or farther, they stood cemented in their spots, like they were bound there by a spell.

A second passed with them looking at each other without speaking.

Then one of them broke the silence with something that the other didn't think would be said. After all, she had blamed herself. But blame is a double edged sword.

"I'm sorry." Josie uncrossed her arms in front of her body and finally took a step closer.

"Oh."

"Y-yeah. Hope, I'm so sorry." Josie moved a step closer again. She really wasn't doing as great of a job speaking as she had thought she was going to.

Hope didn't respond. Her brain was trying to process through so many things at once, it was overwhelming and dizzying.

"Penelope brought me a paper flower."

She wasn't sure why she was bringing this up, but Hope didn't seem to want to know. She rushed into her explanation, "But you bring me real flowers."

"I did, yeah." Her voice was devoid of any and all emotion, only stating simple facts.

"Paper is flimsy, it's fragile. But real flowers, they're strong. I think it represents our relationships. You know me, you know that I think deeply into things. My brain has a world of words swimming around in it. I was thinking about this all night. I just want to make it up to you. I was up all night trying to figure out how I can. Because I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"I do know you. But, Josie, I tried to come talk to you. Last night. At the coffee shop."

"Oh." That meant she saw Penelope, which just made everything worse. But at the same time, not telling the other about her had gotten them into this, she was going to tell her anyways. "I don't know why I called her. But it made me realize just how much I was over her. The note caught me off guard because I thought we told each other everything, so I was blindsided. But I overreacted. I just didn't know what to do. But I did the wrong thing."

"I shouldn't have kept it from you, though. You have every right to be hurt and angry."

"You were scared of losing me. That might be one of the sweetest reasons why."

"But I did lose you."

"But I came back. You didn't lose me, I lost myself. I don't want to lose you. Maybe that's one reason why I haven't talked to you until now. I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Of losing you."

Hope smiled softly. God, the things she felt for this girl, the things this girl made her feel. "Looks like we should stop being so scared," she laughed slightly at her own connection, "But you didn't. I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Jo."

"It's not."

Somehow they were getting closer.

Hope didn't say anything, but Josie did, "The flowers you bring me, they're strong. Like us. They can withstand even my tendency to kill all plants that pass the threshold of my apartment." She smiled. "There's a flower outside the coffee shop, I see it all the time. It's just a daisy, but it fought its way into this world, breaking through the concrete. Everytime I see it, I think of you." Her voice was soft, quiet.

She moved closer, impossibly closer.

The air froze. Their hearts stopped.

Josie moved in and cupped her face. She was going slow, making every inch, every millimeter, count.

Hope stood starkly still before Josie leaned to press her lips against her own. When she did, it jolted her out of her trance, out of Josie's trance, and she started moving too.

She buried one hand in Josie's hair, leaving the other one to hold the back of her neck. And she kissed her back.

They kissed breathlessly, making up for lost time. They stood pressed together in the middle of Hope's flower shop, feverishly moving in sync.

They broke away, only to bring their lips back to one another after a split second.

Josie stepped forward and Hope stepped back, effortlessly taking into account the others motions. The two continued stepping in motion until one of their backs was pressed against the counter.

The sudden contact caused them to break apart and laugh. Hope stared into Josie's eyes with something unreadable sparking deep in her pupils.

Hope moved her hands to Josie's cheeks and caressed her softly before leaning back up for another kiss.

Josie followed her mouth as she started to pull away, longing for more time. Reluctantly, she pulled away and took a deep breath, biting her lower lip and scavenging Hope's entire face for an expression that would convey what was going on in her head.

Finding nothing, she opted to just look into her eyes. She giggled despite herself and shook her head slightly, happy once again.

Suddenly, it felt like things were okay again. Both girls felt better now that they were back in each other's arms. 

All was right with the world. It didn't matter how much the world raged around them, as long as they were together, they could get through to the other side.

The words unspoken seemed to flow between their lips as they kissed once more. Sorry's were whispered and forgiven in the form of a gentle touch. 

It wasn't hard to remember how much they cared about each other, because neither of them had ever forgotten it, even despite everything.

The two became one as the past faded away to be replaced by their future together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohwow
> 
> How do we feelllll? 
> 
> Love me? Hate me? Love this? Hate this?
> 
> Drop a comment below and answer these questions for me, this sounds like a survey but I don't mean it to but seriously let me know your thoughts please
> 
> Thank you all so much for sticking around through the angst, I know it hurt and I know it was out of character for the fic, but thank you for reading and thank you so much for commenting, I love reading your thoughts and it means a lot to me that you take the time to do so
> 
> Anygays, thank you all :) this fic isn't over quite yet so stay tuned 
> 
> Also, stay safe out there friends


	17. Juice With Donuts And Deep Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings friends :) I hope all is well, and I also hope that you enjoy this chapter
> 
> Thank you all so much for all of the comments on my past chapters, I love hearing your thoughts and reactions, and I really do appreciate them

After a breathless, frenzied session of kisses fueled by passion the evening before, Josie had asked Hope to come over in the morning.

The night before came back to her in a series of rapid flashes on the walk to her apartment.

The feeling of Josie's lips on her own and her hands woven in her hair, making up for lost time and showing them how much they missed each other's touch.

As the memory of how her heart skipped a beat when Josie took the first step was followed by the one where Josie took the last step to her flew past her mind's eye, Hope passed a donut shop and decided to bring Josie breakfast.

After all, it was really early, still dark outside with a new dawn only just beginning to peek through the trees, the crisp air and chirping of birds highlighting the early-morning feel, and she wanted to see a smile on Josie's face. A smile on her face was a blessing to the world, brightening up any room she walked into.

So when she was walking out of the donut place with a bag in one hand and drinks in the other, her eyes stayed trained on the building a couple blocks away.

When she reached the building in the distance, Hope buzzed Josie's apartment and waited. After a minute or so, she buzzed again. Finally, one more buzz later, the apartment complex's door opened and Hope went upstairs. She was a little confused, Josie always answers on the first buzz.

She knocked on Josie's door and it opened to reveal the person she had been dying to see.

Josie yawned and smiled at her.

"Goodmorning, beautiful," Hope smiled at her with a smile that reached her eyes so much so that they twinkled.

This greeting caused Josie to smile even more, not expecting that. She invited her in and yawned again.

"Wait, did I wake you up, babe? I'm sorry." She started to feel bad now. The three buzzes started to make sense. She set the breakfast down on the table.

Josie hadn't noticed the food yet, but she smiled sleepily at Hope, "You did, but it's okay. It's you." 

Hope did have to admit, though, she was adorably sleepy. Her eyes were slightly hazy and her hair was kind of tousled, and she was still in her pajamas. She looked beautiful, and Hope had no idea how anyone could ever look this effortlessly perfect. Josie had just woken up, and she was the most beautiful girl Hope had ever seen.

Apollo ran over as Hope was staring at Josie, a small smile turning up the edges of her lips, breaking her from her trance.

She bent down to say good morning to her as well, petting her head, "Hi, Apollo."

Josie went over and filled her food bowl before returning to Hope's side, immediately going in for a hug.

The auburn haired girl wrapped her arms around her and pulled her closer as the brunette buried her head into her.

The sleepy girl yawned and tried to tuck herself even further into the other girl's warmth, hugging her tighter.

They rocked back and forth slightly, hugging for a long amount of time, just happy to be back in each other's arms.

After a few moments, time didn't exist when they were in each other's arms, Josie pulled her head back and smiled at Hope.

"Do you want to go watch the sunrise on the roof, babe?"

 _Babe_. Hope's heart flipped. She hadn't realized how much she had missed that name until just now. She broke out into a grin, surprised at the amount of weight that held, surprised at how much it meant.

Hope smiled back, "I would love to."

Josie sighed and nodded with the ghost of a small smile still floating on her lips, a sleepy look in her eyes. She broke away from the hug to go and grab some blankets and pillows in her arms.

Hope helped her carry them and grabbed the breakfast on their way out, Josie still in her pajamas but she had thrown on a hoodie as well. She, on the other hand, was also wearing a hoodie and some jeans.

She followed her up to the roof and the door opened with a squeak, the light streaming onto the ground from inside, the crisp air filling their lungs. Josie walked over to the same spot she had the first time she had set up a space for them up here, on the night with the meteor shower.

She bent down and started spreading out a blanket before setting the pillows down as well. Then Josie flopped down and patted the spot next to her, waiting for Hope to join her.

When she obliged, Josie immediately cuddled in close to her, resting her head on her chest and sighing in content with her eyes closed.

Hope thought she might have fallen asleep when she didn't say anything for a few minutes, but then she broke the silence quietly.

"Do you want to know what happened?"

She moved her head slightly to look down at the girl, questioning, "What do you mean, babe?"

"With Penelope."

Oh. So they were going to talk about it. Sure, Hope had been curious, but she would never push Josie to talk if she didn't want to or if she wasn't ready.

"Only if you want to tell me." She rubbed Josie's arm absentmindedly, just a small gesture of comfort.

Josie hummed but didn't say anything for a moment more. Hope took that as a no, so she was a bit surprised when Josie began the story with, "We started off hating each other."

Neither of them looked at each other, their eyes were trained on the still dark sky, waiting for the sun that was peeking out from behind the trees to show itself in the morning dawn.

Hope stopped her to make sure she knew she didn't have to do this, "Baby, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's you, and you deserve to know."

She nodded slightly in recognition of the gesture, letting her take it from there. Hope was holding her tight, with her arm over her and her hand playing with Josie's hair.

She took a breath and felt Hope beside her, knowing that she could tell her these things.

"We had a class together, and I had seen her at a few parties before, usually drunk or high with her tongue down some girl's throat." Josie chuckled slightly. "But then, one day, I found her hideout in the library. She had her head in about three different books, all advanced classes. It was then that I saw a different side of her. That was the side I fell for."

She paused, not really knowing what was going to come out of her mouth for this, "She invited me to study with her. We started out sitting in silence, it was awkward in the beginning. But then one day, we had been in there for hours, the sun was starting to come up and we had class in a few hours. She pulled out a joint and offered it to me. I declined, and she just put it away without a second push or thought. That surprised me."

Josie took a second to remember that moment before she continued. The way she had narrowed her eyes in confusion at Penelope when all she had done was put it back into her pocket. Penelope hasn't struck her as that type before.

"Then she closed both of our books and put her feet up on the table, and she started talking. First it was lazy ranting about school, then it got deeper. She started talking to me, asking about me.

"I don't even remember everything we talked about but I do remember feeling different after that."

Josie sighed with a sad smile, "We talked for hours, almost missing class. We ran to class together, but we didn't sit next to each other; we parted ways at the door. It was that morning that did me in." She took a breath and exhaled, "Who knows, maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but that was the morning I fell hard for her."

A far away look entered into her eyes and Hope leaned down to kiss the top of her head to remind her that she wasn't speaking into oblivion.

"I had always kind of felt alone at college, not really having anyone. I didn't live on campus in the dorms, and I had just never connected with anyone like that before. But then that morning happened, and I wasn't alone anymore."

Hope squeezed her hand to let her know that she understood being alone. When Josie was done, she decided, she would tell her about how she understood. It was time. She had been right earlier, Josie deserved to know these things.

The girl wrapped in her arms started talking again, and Hope knew that the heartbreak was coming, and all she wanted to do was hold her tight enough that she didn't have to feel it.

"It was another one of those late night study sessions that we started getting closer. Eventually, we didn't even study in that library hide away, we just talked."

A piece of her was sparked back into a small smile when she remembered how the rest of the world fell away in that little hidden alcove that was safely tucked away.

"It was in that secret space that I fell in love with her, and that had never happened before."

Josie hadn't said any of this outloud before, and it was harder than she thought it was going to be. But Hope deserved an explanation, for everything.

"The thing is, I had always kept my heart locked up so I wouldn't get hurt. But I couldn't help it when it came to her. Which is why losing her hurt so much.

"I had trusted her, and she broke that. I had loved her, and I had thought that she loved me too, but I was wrong."

Hope took a shaky breath. She was filled with a mixture of emotions. Sadness because Josie had to go through that and feel that. Anger at Penelope for putting her through that.

"You see," she added, "the Penelope I knew was a stranger to everyone else. They only knew the partier. But that wasn't the Penelope I fell for. She was deep and philosophical and funny and caring and no one knew about her.

"Hell, maybe it was the sleep deprivation in her that allowed her guard to drop down low enough for me to be able to meet that Penelope, but I like to think that it was more than that. That it was me."

Hope had been silent up until this point, letting Josie talk it out with the silent backdrop of the morning, only offering up comfort in the form of head kisses, arm rubs, and little circles drawn on her hand. But she couldn't help herself, the other girl in her arms let silence fill the air and Hope softly asked, "What happened?"

Josie sighed, maybe even letting a small chuckle escape her lips despite herself, "Our class together ended, summer came, our little alcove became vacant." Then came the part that broke Hope's heart more than it already was. "My mom died, and she wasn't there for me.

"She tried to be, but it was too much for her. I don't blame her for leaving, I understand why she did, it was tough."

Hope tried her best not to react. It being _tough_ was no excuse for Penelope to leave. She left when Josie needed her most, and that filled Hope with an unbridled kind of anger. She only wished that she could have been the one by her side through it all.

"I thought that I knew who she was, but I was wrong about that too." She sighed once more, "Then school started back in the fall and I forced myself to get out again. Not necessarily dating, just out of bed.

"So I went to a back-to-school party at some dorm on campus that I had heard about." Her voice became different suddenly, more angry than sad for a second. "She was there. Drunk or high again. Her tongue down some girl's throat, she was all over her.

"She hadn't changed. I had been wrong about who she was."

Josie paused before saying, "I don't think she saw me that night, I didn't want her to. The second I saw her, I ran. I bolted out of there and sobbed until I couldn't breathe. And then I was alone again."

Hope heard her voice crack on the last syllable, not because she still had feelings for what happened, but because she was reliving it all out loud.

The last six words hung over them in the air and all Hope wanted to do was say that she wasn't alone anymore, that she would never be alone when she was by her side, but the silence was too heavy to be broken by her. Josie had to move the conversation where she wanted to.

Eventually she did, still speaking in a faraway voice, "I went back to the alcove after the party once, against my better judgement. I just couldn't help myself.

"I wanted to walk in like I had the first time, meeting that Penelope by accident, walking in on her with her head in books. I wanted to walk in to her not even noticing me for a minute until she finally looked up and smiled. I wanted her to drop her guard in that room, I wanted the Penelope I knew to come back."

Looking back, she knew why she had wanted that. But now she was really glad that the world hadn't given her that.

The story wasn't over, yet, though, "But when I got there, the school had renovated the alcove into a little cafe over the summer."

Her next words were spaced out so that they seemed like they had been carefully planned, but, truthfully, Josie hadn't planned this story.

"It was the end of an era. That was when my last little shred of hope evaporated.

"Maybe I had been naïve, but I had had hope that we could make things work again before that. I wanted to go back in time and never leave that hidden space in the library.

"I shut myself away as long as I could after that. Then I met you."

Now her voice was different, Hope could hear the smile on her face in her words, and it made her heart feel better. 

Josie craned her head backward to look at Hope. Then she smiled. And Hope, well, she grinned back before leaning down to kiss her for a second to let her know that she had her.

The auburn haired girl spoke for the first time in a while, "You have me. I got you, I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you."

The fact that Josie thought that she had to thank Hope for that hurt her heart a little bit more, but she would prove to her that she was telling the truth.

A pregnant beat of silence passed before Hope decided that it was her turn to tell her story.

She took a deep breath and started, "You know, I have a story like that too."

"Oh, babe, you don't have to tell me just because I told you mine," she looked up at her with concern in her eyes.

"I know, babe, it's okay. I want to tell you."

Truth be told, she did. She wanted to tell Josie everything, from the small things to the big things and everything in between.

This is just another one of those things that she wanted to entrust to Josie, because she really did want to tell her.

So she did.

Hope slipped her hand into Josie's and smiled at her before training her eyes toward the trees. Josie drew a little circle on her before tilting her head back down so they were looking at the same thing.

She started out with acknowledging Josie's story, "When you talked about being alone, I understand that feeling all too well. I was a social outcast in high school. I had my family, so I was never truly alone, but it's just different when it comes to people your own age.

"That's also why I didn't exactly try to make new friends, because I knew I had my family. I never fit in anyways, I had been surrounded only by my family my whole life, and they're all older, so I didn't know how to be a teenager.

"Couple that with me being confused about how I could be attracted to both boys and girls, it's not hard to see why I was a loner. I didn't understand anything then."

That caused Josie to inhale, she and Hope had never really talked about how they realized their sexualities. She didn't know why she hadn't thought that Hope would have struggled with it too, but she was surprised for some reason.

Josie gripped Hope's hand to let her know she understood, much like the other girl had done for her earlier, and to remind her she was there, listening.

"I always sat in the back of the class. It was easier to avoid people and lingering stares there. One day this guy sat down next to me, he was new.

"He cracked a joke about a piece of literature that we were studying in class. I'm pretty sure he was the only one besides me that had actually read it."

Hope smiled, chuckling at the idea, before she continued, "When we met, we just kind of clicked. He won me over with his crooked smile and bad jokes."

His face popped into her head, an image that hadn't come up in a long time. She hadn't missed it.

"We hid away in some old fashioned diner, eating greasy food and drinking milkshakes. Outside the windows, it was us against the world. But inside our booth, it was just us. The fact that we were outsiders didn't matter when we were together."

Josie thought she understood that. Penelope was not an outsider by any definition, but the part of her that Josie had come to love was.

Maybe her and Hope's story weren't quite so different after all.

"He was a writer, and he would always read me the things he wrote. I would sit in the booth and quietly watch him work on something new.

"Looking back, it seems obvious that he was always more into the story than he was into me."

Hope's voice changed at that. When she thought about what happened, she blamed herself. She should have seen it coming.

When the other girl didn't say anything more, Josie looked up at her and asked the same question she had been asked. "What happened?"

Hope sighed, taking her time to think about her answer, taking her time to think about things she hadn't thought about in a long while.

She looked down at the girl in her arms and smiled. Frankly, it didn't matter what happened in the past. All she really cared about was the present, and the present featured Josie in her arms with a budding sunrise in front of them. 

The past had nothing on the present.

Despite this, she still answered, "One day, we were working on a project for our English class about love stories. I just kind of joked that he could write ours.

"I didn't even mean to say it but I told him that I loved him. He didn't say it back." She played with Josie's hand in her own. "Instead, he told me he didn't feel the same. Then he said that things were moving too fast."

Hope couldn't help the way her breath hitched at the next part, because it created a fear in her that was unlike her other fears.

She took a shaky breath and smiled again, running her index finger over Josie's palm. "I regretted saying it the second the words left my mouth, the second his face dropped.

"I regretted it even more when he said he wanted space, because that meant never seeing each other or speaking ever again."

Her voice cracked, "I lost him because I loved him. And that hurt."

She finished her story with absentmindedly running her hand through Josie's hair.

The girl in her arms turned, twisting her torso so she could look Hope in the eyes properly. Josie stared deep into her eyes, searching for something only she would know when she found it.

Then she leaned forward and kissed her softly, pulling back and softly saying, "I wish you didn't have to know what that feels like."

Hope didn't respond, but Josie didn't intend for her to anyway. The girl twisted back around and resettled herself into the arms wrapped around her.

After a moment, Josie added, "I never told Penelope I loved her. I was too afraid that she would shut me out too."

Both of them had loved and lost, both thinking they had lost because they loved. 

Truth be told, they were both scared to love again, but that was just to be expected.

Josie shifted and quietly said, "I think that's why I called her. In college, she had always been my escape. Her and that room. So when I found the note, I just wanted to escape, and some part of me reverted. I'm sorry, Hope, I'm so sorry."

Hope smiled down at her with soft eyes, softly shushing her, "Hey, baby, it's okay. It's okay, Jo, I promise." She nodded her head and looked directly into her eyes to make sure she knew.

It really was okay to her. The fact that Josie had gone back to her hurt, but the reason why made sense. The only thing that really mattered was that she came back.

Hope reached behind them and pulled the bag closer before setting it in front of them.

Josie looked inside, "Donuts?"

"I brought breakfast. I figured that you wouldn't have eaten yet this morning and, on the way, I passed a donut shop. So I stopped and got us some." She reached behind them again and handed Josie a cup with a top on it, "And I got you juice."

Josie smiled, and it was the best thing Hope had ever seen, "Thank you, Hope."

"Of course, babe."

Josie sat up slightly, but she remained in Hope's arms, and offered her the bag. She took one and handed it back.

Josie ripped her donut apart and popped a piece in her mouth while leaning back into Hope. 

When they settled back down, the sun finally began to peak over the tops of the trees and light up the sky.

A vibrant red painted the background of the trunks of the trees while the morning sky slowly cycled through oranges and yellows all the way up until the blue at the top.

It was a new dawn, a new day, and it felt like the light was coming back into their lives.

They both sighed in content and watched the sun rise higher into the sky with each passing moment, appreciating the fact that they got to watch it with each other.

The new beginnings of their lives and their relationship were sprawled out in front of their eyes, easy to see as they watched silently and cuddled closer.

The past few weeks were close to forgotten in that morning, when they did all they had really ever needed, or wanted to do, when they talked. 

The words that were exchanged on that morning, with the backdrop furthering the idea of a new beginning for them both, each of them silently vowed that they would never hurt the other again. After all, it was the last thing either of them ever wanted to do.

So, as the sun climbed higher and higher into the new day, the two moved closer to each other, wanting to never leave the rooftop and stay suspended in this moment forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they finally did it. after so long, they finally did it. what did they do you ask? they TALKED
> 
> communication is key, friends
> 
> how do we feel about this chapter? Let me know
> 
> also, backstory! Yay, backstory! Let me know how you feel about their backstories as well
> 
> Fun Fact: Originally, I was not going to add this chapter in, but it felt right, you know? Thank you to the person that confirmed this for me, and, fellow readers, did we like this addition?


	18. Espresso With Hearts Made Of Foam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! hey! did I skip a Wednesday? yes. however, this chapter is basically a double chapter because it's nearly 6000 words and my chapters are normally only around 3000, so maybe, possibly, hopefully that makes up for it?
> 
> anygays, I hope that you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Also, thank you to the person who read through this entire chapter with me and helped me to revise a bunch of sentences that didn't make sense, and to the person whose advice I will always take, even if they tell me not to.

"God, I hate Valentine's Day," MG said as he dropped a box of decorations down on a table while he and Josie were setting up for the following day at the coffee shop.

"Why? No date this year?" Josie smirked and looked at him as she reached up on her tip-toes to hang a red heart on the wall.

"No," he defended, momentarily pausing from sifting through the box to look back at her before returning to his job, "I just hate how superficial it is. Everyone acts like it has to be perfect."

Josie glanced back down at him.

"I also do not have a date," he rushed through, sighing, "Love is just so shoved in your face this time of the year."

Josie joined him by the box, "How can you not have a date? You're the best guy I know." She moved a centerpiece to reach another paper heart.

He smiled slightly, "Thanks, but other girls apparently don't share that opinion." He sighed once again. "What about you, Jo? How do you feel about V Day?"

She rested her hands on the edges of the clear plastic box, "I have a love-hate relationship with it. I like seeing other couples happy."

MG smiled, that was his best friend.

She continued, looking towards the ceiling, "And, I mean, it's love. Sure, it has its downsides and bad parts, but it's Valentine's Day." She smiled, a little light sparking in her eyes, "Anything can happen."

Truth be told, Josie did have a love-hate relationship with the day. She hadn't always had the best experience with the day.

But she was an optimist, and love gave her a fuzzy feeling. Who was she to discount the day just because of the past?

It wasn't in her nature not to look on the bright side. No matter what happened before, there was still a little voice inside of her that was excited by the fact that love was in the air.

MG smiled, watching her stare into the distance with a happy far-away look in her eyes. "I'll acknowledge the good parts, like the candy on sale the next day," he joked.

Josie laughed and was brought back to the moment, diving back into the box to pull out another decoration.

She walked to another table and set down a centerpiece.

"But a definite bad part are these espresso hearts." Josie turned back to him to nod in agreement.

For Valentine's Day, their manager had said that every espresso was to come with a little heart drawn on top in the cream. It was extremely cliche, and surprisingly hard to do, so both of them hated it.

"Mine always come out a little broken," MG continued, "and that's the last sentiment you want on Valentine's Day."

"Let me handle the hearts, you can take orders." 

Josie grabbed another centerpiece and placed it on a different table. At this point, MG was basically just standing at the box of decorations and ranting about tomorrow, only occasionally handing his friend an object from it.

Josie had two reasons for offering this up to him, one of them being the fact that she had been secretly practicing to make the hearts.

"Sounds good." He finally moved to go to the other side of the store with a decoration in hand for a table.

"And, who knows? Maybe while you're taking orders you'll meet someone." She smirked at him, the idea of playing matchmaker dancing across her lips, her second reason for the offer becoming apparent.

MG glared playfully at her before saying, "I doubt it."

"Don't lose all faith in the idea. I met Hope like that," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but that was the exception, not the rule." He turned his back from her as he said it, putting down the final centerpiece.

Josie was so glad she was the exception.

MG turned back to her, looking around the room at the red and pink hearts hung over the walls, the centerpieces in the middle of every table, and the chalkboard Valentine's Day specials written in red and pink chalk.

"Looks good, I think we're done." He picked up the empty box and took it back into the store room, flicking off the light when he came out.

"I agree," Josie put the last red construction paper heart on the door.

MG started to turn off the other lights, "You know, all of this really seems out of character for this place."

"You don't know the story?" 

"What?"

"The story? The reason why this hipster coffee shop still goes all out for Valentine's Day?" Josie smiled at him, trying to jog his memory.

"No?" He looked at her with a confused expression.

They moved towards the exit together, ready to leave for the night.

"Okay, well, long story short," she started, "the owners of this place met on Valentine's Day, both sharing a mutual hatred for the day. But, then, they fell in love. That didn't stop them from hating the day, though. This is all for their ironic sense of humor," she laughed.

"I see," MG chuckled as he closed the door behind them, shutting off the last light as he did so.

"Yeah," she turned to face him as they stood in front of the door, both with their backs turned to where they were headed, "I guess I'll see you here tomorrow morning."

"That you will." They both worked the same morning shift the next day, and they were going to get there early to set up. Both of them had an early morning ahead of them, but MG especially.

Josie smiled, "Goodnight, MG."

"Night, Jo." He smiled back at her before turning and starting to make his way back to his apartment.

Josie watched him walk a few steps before spinning and silently walking back to her apartment, unlocking the door to pet Apollo behind her ears. Then she dropped her keys in a bowl by the door and showered only to collapse into bed and fall asleep after.

The next morning, she rolled out of bed and got ready before the sun was even fully up. She popped in her earbuds when she closed and locked her door behind her, listening to music on the way to work.

MG barely managed to slip out of the coffee shop and relock it before he saw Josie in the distance.

If it hadn't been for her earbuds and the fact that she was lost in music, he would have been caught red handed.

He took his key out and walked a little ways away before coming back to smile at her and try to hide how he was out of breath while pretending like he had just gotten there too.

He let them both in and flipped on the lights as he closed the door behind them. Josie was already going into the shop, thanking him and taking out her earbuds to stow them away in a pocket.

When her hand had finished tucking them safely away, her eyes caught on something on the counter.

She was entranced, taking slow steps to reach them.

"What are these, MG?"

He hummed, playing dumb, "What?"

"The flowers," she said.

Josie came to a stop next to the counter, her fingers fluttering over a petal.

"What do you mean?" He came up behind her, peering over her shoulder, "They're pretty."

She turned her head for a second to look at him, "Oh, come on. You had to have put them here.

"Jo, we got here at the same time. How could I have?" MG mused logically.

Josie frowned, turning her head back as she did so. He was right.

MG smiled but covered it well, standing behind her still. "Is there a note?"

She checked quickly. "No," she sighed.

He hummed again, "I have no idea, maybe you have a secret admirer."

She looked up and narrowed her eyes in thought, talking through her thoughts out loud, "They have to be from Hope."

"You don't think they could be from…"

"No, definitely not. That's over and done, and we both know it. I made sure of that."

Josie had explained everything to him after, in a repeat of what happened before, with him bringing the movies over to her place, but this time there weren't tears. However, she didn't give him all the details, about how she called her again and finished things for good. Which she suspected was why he asked that.

"Then I don't know, Jo," he laughed, walking behind the counter and looking at her over the flowers, "Let's get everything ready."

"Okay," she halfheartedly said, still running a petal between her fingers, staring at them with a far away look in her eyes.

She snapped out of her trance in deep thought a second later, picking them up and carrying them to the back room while setting the rest of her belongings down as well.

The flowers were the last thing that left her hands, mumbling to herself while she did so, "Is she a locksmith too? How did she get these in here?"

With one more small head shake when MG called for her, she left the flowers to sit in the room, but they would be thought about all day long.

_Out of sight, out of mind_ didn't apply here.

Josie walked back out to MG and started helping him set up, prepping the machines and baking the pastries.

They liked setting up together, it was quiet and peaceful. It gave them a chance to talk when it was just them and the sounds of the machines hissing in the background. This part of the day was one of the reasons why they became best friends.

MG fiddled with a machine and smiled at Josie with a smile that tugged one of the sides up a little bit higher than the other. "You're excited, aren't you?"

Josie was closing the display case when she sheepishly grinned back at him, "Well, yeah."

"Do you guys have anything special planned?" He asked, letting her have a chance to gush.

"No, actually. We decided to just do low-key." Josie explained simply.

"I see. That doesn't really seem like your style, though, Jo. You like to be swept off your feet."

"She did that long ago. It doesn't matter what we do, I just want to do it with her." She had stopped stocking the pastries, now she was just leaning on the counter, looking at him.

"You guys are good together. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, MG," she smiled genuinely.

They fell into silence for a moment before Josie flipped the conversation, "So now all we have to do is get you a girl." She grinned at him.

"Oh, no, Jo. It's okay." He flicked his eyes to her and chuckled.

"Just remember what I said about not losing faith in the whole meet-cute-at-a-coffee-shop thing, okay?"

"Alright," he gave in to his friend only because he knew there was no losing faith in love for her right now. When it came to matters of the heart currently, Josie was gone, and her optimism had reached an all time high.

She beamed at him and checked the clock, "It's time to open."

And with that, their day began. MG manned the counter while Josie made the drinks and side eyed him every time a girl approached.

When it started to die down a little and no one was coming up the counter anymore, Josie gestured to get MG's attention.

"So I've been thinking," she started, "What if the flowers were for you?"

He knew it would just be a lot easier to tell her, but he also knew that he was sworn to secrecy. "Why would they be for me?"

"You said it yourself: a secret admirer."

"I don't think they're for me, Jo."

She shrugged just as Hope walked into the coffee shop, her hands hiding behind her back.

Hope walked up the counter as Josie's smile grew bigger with every step. When she reached the counter, she brought her hands out from behind her back to reveal a bouquet of flowers.

The auburn haired girl held them out to the girl behind the counter, and she smiled when she took them from her outstretched hands.

“I would have had them delivered with a note, but I work alone.” Hope leaned on the counter as Josie looked into the flowers.

MG winked at Hope from behind Josie as he dried a mug.

Hope smirked but she tried to hide it by looking down at the counter and clearing her throat.

“It’s okay, I prefer you over some delivery boy. It means I get to see you.” Josie smiled back at her.

“I thought I could say what I would have written in a note to go with the flowers in person. Do you want to go for a walk?”

She was intrigued, “I would love to.” She glanced back at MG.

“Don’t worry, Jo, I got it covered,” the boy moved his gaze between the girls and offered.

“Thanks, you’re the best,” Josie grinned at him before slipping out from behind the counter and finding herself by Hope’s side within a second. 

The two turned and Hope looked over her shoulder to mouth a _thank you_ to MG. He only smiled genuinely and nodded his head once. Then she turned back and started to ask Josie about her day so far.

“It’s been good,” she answered as they stepped out onto the sidewalk and started to walk. “Where are we going?”

 

“I thought we could go to the park, it’s a really pretty day outside.”

On their way to the park, with the flowers still in the back of Josie’s mind, Hope filled her in on her day as well. When they turned into the park, somehow their hands found each other.

They both smiled and finished the walk to their spot under the tree with accidentally bumping sides and giggling multiple times.

The two girls sat down and Josie looked at Hope, “Are you a thief?”

She blinked, completely caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

"The flowers on the counter this morning when we opened."

"What flowers?" Hope looked confused, a happy crinkle taking up residence between her lowered eyebrows.

"Stop lying," she laughed, "I know it was you. I just want to know how you did it."

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she turned her head away and made it all the more obvious that she did, in fact, know exactly what she was talking about.

“Babeee,” Josie drew out the last syllable for a few seconds and gave Hope a pouty face.

Hope caved. She couldn’t resist Josie, she never could.

She squinted her eyes and tried to subdue a smirk, “Let’s just say that MG makes a pretty good delivery boy.”

“I knew it!” Josie exclaimed.

Hope laughed, a laugh that lasted for a while. Then she pulled Josie closer to her and wrapped her arms around her.

They sat like that for some time, each of them sighing in content and watching a bird in a nearby tree.

Finally, Hope broke the silence, “I was really dreading Valentine’s Day without you, you know.” She cast her eyes to the ground before glancing back up at the girl sitting next to her.

Josie shifted and looked into her eyes, “I’m sorry.”

Hope moved her hand to gently run over her cheek, “No apologies,” she whispered, “We already did those, yeah? It’s okay.”

Suddenly Hope was pressing her forehead against Josie’s, her finger still lightly brushing along Josie’s jaw. A pregnant second passed before Hope moved her chin forward so her lips could find Josie’s.

Josie kissed her back, moving her own hands to find Hope’s back. She tried to say it all in her kiss, how sorry she was. Hope could tell her a thousand times that it was okay, but she felt like she needed to tell her sorry as many times as possible.

Hope broke away and touched Josie’s cheek again, smiling at her. 

The brunette melted against her touch and leaned into it. Josie had been terrified that Hope was never going to forgive her, and some part of her would never forgive herself. She sat back up after a second and asked, “What were you going to put in your note?”

Her smile turned into a smirk, “I was going to ask you to dinner tonight at seven.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Hope smiled and leaned forward to close the small gap separating them once again. She hated when there was space between them. The one place she always knew she wanted to be was beside Josie. It always seemed like she just couldn’t get close enough.

Some time later, the two broke away to spend the remainder of Josie’s lunch break sitting on the grass and breathing in the outside air. It was oddly warm for February. Maybe Spring was coming early.

Josie moved closer to the other girl, their outstretched legs crossing over each other from time to time.

Back at the coffee shop, MG was fending off orders left and right when the line finally started to die down before the bell on the door jingled and he looked up to see a beautiful blonde enter. The sight of her stopped him dead in his tracks, causing him to pause.

She looked around the room and came up to the counter, “Hey, do you know where Jo is?”

 

“What?” He asked, confused and still caught up in the way her hair bounced over her shoulder when she walked. He found himself studying her face, trying to commit it to memory. He didn’t really have to try, though, he knew he could never forget her.

“I’m Lizzie, her sister. I came to tell her that Dad wants to have dinner this weekend. I wanted to know if she was free. She also said that she wanted to talk to me about something.” She stated matter-of-factly, like he should already know this.

“If she’s not free, I’m sure I could take you to dinner instead.” Those were definitely not his words.

Lizzie blinked, “Um, where’s Jo?”

MG took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. This was not happening. Josie couldn’t predict the future. “She went on a walk with Hope.”

She set her stance and moved her weight to one foot, “Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“No idea.” He smiled, “I’m MG.”

Lizzie looked him up and down, narrowing her eyes, “Okay, MG, thanks anyways.” She started to turn before sighing and already regretting what she was about to do. “The pin on your apron, it’s from Green Lantern,” she said to the room around her, still turned away from him.

“You know Green Lantern?”

This caused her to turn back on her heel and eye him once more, “What? Does my blonde hair deter you from the idea that I could read comics?”

“No! No, not at all,” he tried to recover.

“MG, was it?” She confirmed his name, as if she hadn’t already used it once, “Green Lantern was the first comic series I read. It got me into them.”

“That’s so cool,” he smiled, “The Flash was my first series, but I think Green Lantern doesn’t get enough credit. Don’t even get me started on who the best Green Lantern is.” He was beginning to nerd out, and he tried to reign it in.

His boy-ish charm started to pop out, and Lizzie noticed. His smile was easy, and his eyes were caring. She didn’t know why she had said anything about the pin, either, normally she would never let on that she was a closetted nerd.

Her defences dropped, and she knew that the next words out of her mouth were not her own in any way shape or form, “Were you serious about the dinner?”

“Yes!” He said, with far more excitement in his voice than he meant to let show.

Lizzie sighed, “Get my number from Jo and text me.” Her eyes were unreadable.

And with that, she turned and walked out the door, leaving an enchanted MG in her wake. His head was swimming with what had just happened, and he couldn’t stop staring at the door.

MG blinked a few times and reminded himself to breathe. He wasn’t sure that the past interaction had really happened. He moved his gaze around the shop for a second before the bell jingled again and broke him from his haze. The irrational part of him hoped that it was Lizzie again, but the rational side saw that it was just another customer.

They came up to the counter and MG put on a smile to take their order, acting like his head didn’t feel cloudy because of some mystery girl he had known for all of five minutes.

Back at the park, the two had gotten closer yet again, with their hands now intertwined and their sides shoved up against each other. 

Eventually, the two were forced to get up and return to the world. Hope walked Josie back to work and told her she would pick her up at seven.

She was beginning to turn away when Josie invited her back into the coffee shop. She couldn’t refuse, so, instead of going back to her flower shop, she instead found herself back where she had been earlier.

When they got inside, Josie waved at MG before guiding Hope to a table, “Wait here.”

Hope sat down, slightly confused, before watching her vanish behind the counter without another word. 

She looked around the shop, but then looked out the window and lost herself in the view, daydreaming. It was for that reason Hope had no idea how much time had passed before Josie was back at her side, pushing something in front of her on the table.

Hope took a breath and tried to bring herself back to the scene in front of her.   
She focused on the small, white mug that Josie had just set down on the table. On top of the liquid inside of it, there was a heart drawn in the foam.

Hope looked up at Josie, who was anxiously awaiting her reaction, and broke out in a surprised smile. It spread from her lips to her cheeks, and up to her eyes. Dimples formed and her eyes twinkled. 

It was one of the best things Josie had ever seen.

Josie couldn’t help but break out in a grin at the sight of her, half from relief and half from happiness. She had been nervous making this for her, not sure how she would like the cliche. But it had been why she had been practicing how to make a heart in foam. For her.

The brunette quickly sat down across from her and said, Hope’s eyes following her the entire time while the smile still resided on her face, “I know you don’t drink coffee, so there’s no caffeine in it. I hope you like it.”

“Of course I like it. Thank you.”

Josie responded to that with another smile. “I’ll let you return to your daydreams, babe. Thank you for the flowers, both of the bouquets,” the smile turned to a smirk for a second before going back to its original form, “I’ll see you tonight, yeah?”

 

“Definitely. Thank you again.” Hope knew Josie had to get back to work, MG had been kind enough to cover for as long as he already had. Besides, she should probably get going soon, too.

Josie stood and walked behind the counter again, ready to bring up the flowers to someone else.

MG innocently leaned up against the wall, pretending like he hadn’t been watching their interaction. 

“I thought you hated Valentine’s Day,” she opened with.

“I do.”

“Then why did you help Hope sneak flowers in here this morning?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Hope overheard this piece of their conversation as she stood to leave and smiled. She had told him not to say anything, and she was impressed at how well he was doing. Josie wasn’t giving up, though. Before she could hear the rest, she slipped out the door.

“Hope already told me, you don’t have to keep up the charade anymore, MG.”

He sighed, “I may hate the day, but, it’s you and Hope, Jo. How could I not do something to help make the day special for you guys? Besides, she’s very convincing.”

What he didn’t add into his explanation was that he loved the two of them together. Or the fact that he loved their relationship. He had a soft spot for them.

He also may have forgotten to say that he wanted what they had.

Josie’s plan of action to remain icy due to the fact that he hadn’t told her earlier quickly fell apart when she melted at his words, and the sentiment behind them.

“Thank you,” she said, genuinely.

“You don’t have to thank me, I’m happy to do it.” MG smiled and pushed himself off of the wall, laughing slightly, “I barely made it out before you got here this morning. I practically sprinted back down the block to make it seem like we got here at the same time.”

Josie shook her head playfully and laughed, joking, “I thought you seemed winded.”

“Hey!” MG tried to glare but his smile made it impossible. Then he changed the subject to his own romantic prospects. “So,” he trailed, trying not to make it seem obvious, “do you remember this morning?”

“I think I have some recollection of the past few hours, yes.”

 

He chose to ignore that. “This morning when you told me about meeting someone like how you met Hope? Um, well, it kinda, maybe, happened.”

“What? That’s great, MG!” Josie exclaimed, “Who is she?” She was listening, waiting.

 

This is where he had to break the news, “Don’t be mad, but it’s Lizzie.” He waited for her reaction, but it didn’t come.

“Why would I be mad? I’m happy for you,” she beamed.

“Really? That’s great, thank you, because she told me to get her number from you.”

Josie pulled out her phone. “Of course. You’re not the only one who can play matchmaker,” she smirked, looking through her contacts, and MG thought, just for a second, that maybe it hadn’t been a meeting of chance, “Wait, why was Lizzie here?”

MG laid his phone down for when she was ready, “She said that your Dad wanted to have dinner this weekend, she came to see if you were free. She also said that you had told her that there was something you wanted to talk to her about.”

 

She hummed and scrolled once more before clicking on Lizzie’s contact information, “Here it is,” she held it out for MG to copy, “She could have just texted, or called.”

He was really glad she hadn’t. MG saved her contact, “Thank you again, Jo.”

Josie smiled and slipped her phone back into her pocket, “So, tell me what happened.”

MG grinned as he recounted the interaction outloud to her as he had done so many times in his own head since Lizzie had left. 

Josie listened intently and let him go on and on about her, just as he had let her go on and on about Hope. 

She knew that she only had a few more hours left until she got to see the girl she had gushed about to him, too.

In those few hours, Hope was filling rush orders for Valentine’s Day and awaiting the same time that Josie was.

They were only a few blocks apart, but they hated that there had to be any distance between them at all.

The minute hand of the clock ticked away and the hours fell past them. Hope found herself picking Josie up at seven. She had planned a low-key evening, because that was more their style than over-the-top setups. 

When Josie came out of her building, Hope took her hand and guided her down the sidewalk, her eyes lit with sparkles at the sight of her. 

They went to a little restaurant near the corner of town and sat down in booths across from one another. It was a place that neither of them had ever been to before.

The waitress came and took their orders, smiling and looking between the two of them with a knowing look in her eye. When she walked away, they both leaned forward and giggled.

“That was weird, right?” Josie narrowed her eyes and laughed again.

“Kinda, maybe we’re the only girl couple she sees in here.”

“Or maybe it’s more than that,” Josie finished for her, pointing to the t-shirt under the lady’s apron that neither of them had noticed before. It had a small rainbow heart on the pocket in the top left. 

For some reason, both of them broke out into a grin to each other.

Their smiles not fading, they fell into a light conversation while they waited for their food.

The same waitress reappeared some time later and laid their orders down in front of them. Both girls smiled widely at her in the same way that she had looked at them earlier. 

When she walked away, Hope started to open her straw for her drink and Josie began to delve into a very animated description of the book she was reading. 

While she did that, Hope had an idea. She tore her straw wrapper into little pieces and crumpled them up while she listened. She knew that Josie wasn’t noticing what she was doing, it was clear that she was too into the story she was telling.

As Josie waved her hands above the table to gesture through a scene, Hope started to throw the little pieces of the straw wrapper at her until she got her attention, saying _babe_ after each one.

The auburn haired girl threw at least five pieces before Josie noticed one in her hair. When it got her attention, the brunette looked up from her hair into Hope’s eyes with a soft expression on her face, a small smile upturning her lips, “Yeah?”

“You’re adorable.”

Josie began to blush and grin at the same time. She looked down at her untouched food and stared at the table, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Hope smiled and shook her head, and then began eating. It was too easy to get her flustered, not that she was complaining. She meant what she said.

Josie started eating, too, and, eventually, Hope let her off the hook and offered up something to talk about so the red in Josie’s cheeks had a chance to subside.

When the two girl’s plates were empty, their waitress came over to give them their check and take their plates away.

Josie started to pull her wallet out but Hope stopped her, chuckling, “Babe, I asked you out to dinner, I’ll pay.”

Josie started to protest, but she knew that she would never back down, so she only thanked her instead.

Hope paid the bill and added a big tip for their waitress, she had been really nice to them and she wanted to do something nice in return. Not to mention that Josie had gotten attached. She noted that they would have to come back to this restaurant in the future.

They stood to leave and Hope held the door for Josie on their way out, Josie waving a goodbye to their waitress with a smile. Throughout the dinner, whenever she came to check on them, she would thank the lady and ask her how she was, or how her day had been, and then she complimented her shirt. 

Hope had watched her do this with a twinkle in her eye, admiring how big Josie’s heart was.

They stepped out onto the sidewalk and exhaled into the night. Josie had draped her jacket over her arms and was holding it in front of her. She let the jacket drop into one hand at her side and slipped her free hand into Hope’s.

The two started walking, hand in hand, but they didn’t have a destination. Both of them had agreed to a low-key Valentine’s Day because their relationship wasn’t about huge setups. Neither of them cared what they did, so long as they were together.

So they strolled through the little town, walking down a sidewalk and finding themselves standing in front of a little grassy area. There was a small gazebo in the middle of it, lit up with white twinkle lights. 

It was lighting up the surrounding area as well, since the darkness of the evening had descended upon them while they were having dinner. It was beautiful, and eye catching.

Josie took a step towards it and pulled Hope’s hand to follow her. A few more steps and they were standing in the middle of it. 

Josie looked up at the lights and stood in front of Hope, moving closer. 

Hope smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her. Their lips met and Josie put her hands on Hope’s neck, her thumbs resting on her cheeks. Hope put her hands on the small of Josie’s back and drew her forward.

When they pulled apart, both of them grinned at each other and sighed in content. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, babe,” Hope murmured as she leaned in to kiss her again, a smile still upturning her lips as they met Josie’s once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is a Valentine's Day chapter being posted in the month of May. But, I started writing this in February, so. Also, that shows you that it took me nearly 3 months to finish it because of writers block.
> 
> That also means that I cannot guarantee when the next chapter will come out, but there's only 2 chapters left. How do we feel about that? I, personally, have no idea how I feel about the fact that this fic is almost over.
> 
> enough with the sentimentality, though, you'll get a lot more of that later, onto the fun stuff, such as: what did you think of this chapter? loved it? hated it? both? let me know your thoughts and feelings and opinions and so on and so forth!
> 
> Thank you for all the comments and kudos, they really do mean a lot and I appreciate them all.


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